MAY 26 f%9 .
SCC 10,768 v. 1
Watson, Richard
A Collection of theololgical
tracts, in six volumes
A ^ ^ . ^~ ~ j
COLLECTION
o F
M A
THEOLOGICAL TRACTS,
IN SIX VOLUMES.
By RICHARD WATSON, D.D. F.R.S.
Lord Bishop of Landaff,
AND
Regius Professor of Divinity hi /fo University of
Cambridge.
SECOND EDITION.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
Printed for T. Evans In the Strand, and in the Great Market, Bury St.
Edmund's ; J. and J.Merrill, Cambridge ; J. Fletcher, and Prince and
Cooke, Oxford ; P. Hill, Edinburgh; and W. M'Kenzie, Dublin.
M.DCC.XCli
TO THE
U E E N.
MADAM,
NO original work of mine could poflibly have been
fo deferving of Your Majefty's attention, as this
Collection of other men's labours undoubtedly is. Our
Infancy is indebted to that Sex of which Your Majefly
is the higheft Ornament, for the firft principles of
Religious Education -, and as one of the naain objects of
Vol. L a this
DEDICATION.
this publication is — the preferving Youth from Infide-
lity— I cannot do the Public a greater fervice than by
requeuing Your Majefty to give it your protection.
The interefls of civil Society require that we fhould
pay deference to perfons of Rank, even though they hap-
pen not to be perfons of Merit. But this is a limited
and conftrained deference -, it is paid with reluctance -,
and is both in kind and extent wholly unlike that which
all good Citizens are ambitious of mewing to Your
Majefly. My character has hitherto, I truft, never been
efreemed that of a Flatterer ; nor do I fear the imputa-
tion of it, in faying, That to Your Majefty's Rank
alone I would not have <>iven even this mark, worthlefs
as it may feem, of my Veneration and Refpect.
I verily believe Your Majefly to be one of the beft
Wives, and one of the befl Mothers, in England. The
Time is approaching, — diftant may it be! when the re-
collection of the example which You have fhewn to
Women of every .Rank, in thefe great points of female
Duty (the greateft en which Women of the higheft
Rank ought to build their worth of character), will give
Your Majefly far more comfort than I can poffibly de-*
fcribe; but not more than I, in conjunction with
Thouftnds
DEDICATION.
Thouf inds in every part of the Kingdom, heartily wifh
and pray Your Majefly may at all times, and efpecially
at that time, enjoy.
lam,
MADAM,
With the greatefl and mofl fincere Refpedt,
Your MAJESTY'S
Mofl obedient Servant,
RICHARD LANDAFF.
a 2
CONTENTS
OF THX
FIRST VOLUME,
A Scheme of Scripture- Divinity, formed upon the Pkn
of the Divine Difpenfations.^ With a Vindication
of the Sacred Writings. By J. Taylor, D. D. Lond.
1762, p. £
This Book deferves to be generally known ; it has been for fome
Years out of Print, and much fought after by the Clergy : I thought I
fliould do tbem an acceptable Service in making it a part of this Col-
lection.
Reflexions upon the Books of the -Holy Scripture, to ejlablijk
the Truth of the Chrijlyth Religion, In two Volumes.
Lond, 1688. By P. Allix. p. 220.
Thefe two Volumes were published in French, the Firft in London,
and the Second at Amfterdam, much about the fame Time that they
made their Appearance in Englifh. They were fpoken of with Refpeft
in the Ada ErMitotum for 1688 ; were tranflated into German at JV»-
rtnberg in 1702 : and have been always held in great Repute for the
Plainnefsand Erudition with which they are written. The Author was
a French Refugee of diftinguifhed Learning and Integrity ; the Reader
Will meet with a good Account »f his Lift and Writings in the Bro^ra*
$hia Britannita,
PREFACE,
IN publishing this Collection of Theological Tracts I have had
no other end in view, but to afford young perfons of every
denomination, and efpecially to afford the Students in the Uni-
versities, and the younger Clergy, an eafy opportunity of be-
coming better acquainted with the grounds and principles of
the Chriftian Religion than, there is reaibn to apprehend, many
of them at prefent are. My firft intention was to have admitted
into the Collection, fuch fmall tracts only in Latin or Englifh, on
Theological Subjects, as had funk into unmerited oblivion ; but,
on maturer reflexion, I thought it better to confult the general
utility of the younger and lefs informed Clergy, than to aim at
gratifying the curiofity, or improving the understanding, of thofe
who were more advanced in years and knowledge. InStead there-
fore of confining myfelf to fingle tra£ts,I have not fcrupled topurp-
lifh fome entire books; but they are books of fuch acknowledged
worth, that no Clergyman ought to be unacquainted with their
contents j and by making them a part of this Collection, they
may chance to engage the attention of many who would otherwife
have overlooked them. It would have been an eafy matter to
have laid down anexten five plan of Study for young Divines,
$md to have made a great (hew of learning by introducing into
it a Systematic Arrangement of Hiftorians, Critics, and Com-
mentators, who, in different ages and in different languages, have
employed their talents on Theological Subjects. But there is a
fafliion in ftudy as in other purfuits j and the tafte of the prefent
age is not calculated for the making great exertions in Theologi-
cal Criticifm and Philology. I do not confider the Tracts which
are here published *> fufficient to make what is called a deepDivine,
but they will go a great way towards making, what is of more
worth — a well-informed Christian. InDivinity, perhaps, more than
Vi
PREFACE.
in any other fcicncc, it may be reckoned a virtue aliqua nefcire ;
for what Quinctilian obferves of hiftorical, is certainly very ap-
plicable to an abundance of Theological writings. — — Perfequi
quidem quod qui/que umquam vel contempt iffimorum hominum dixerit,
aut nmuc miferics, cut inanis jaclantite eft j et detinet at que obruit
Ingenia> melius aliis vacatura.
If any thing can revive a fenfe of Religion in the higher clafies
of life j preferve what ftill remains of it amongft men of middling
fortunes ; and bring back to decency of manners' and the fear of
God, the loweft of the people ; it mud be the Zeal of the
Clergy. But Zeal, in order to produce its proper effect, muft
be founded in knowledge : it will otherwife (where, from fome
peculiar temperament of body or mind, it happens to exift at
all) be unfteady in its operation ; it v/ill be counteracted by the
prejudices of the world, the fuggeftiens of felf-intereft, the im-
portunities of indolent habits j or it will be tainted by Fanaticifm,
and inftead of producing in every individual fober thoughts of
his Chriftian duty, it will hurry into dangerous errors the ignorant
and unthinking, and excite the abhorrence or derifion of men of
fenfe. I have therefore, in felecYing the works which compofe
this publication, not fo much attended to the difcuffion of parti-
cular doctrines, as to the general arguments which are beft adapted
to produce in the Clergy, and in others who will confider them,
a well-grounded perluafion that Chriftianity is not a cunningly de-
vifed fable , but the power of God unto Jahation to every one that
helieveth. That Clergyman who is a Chriftian, not becaufe he
happens to have been born in a Chriftian country, but from ratio-
nal conviction, will never think himfclf at liberty to make light
of his calling; to fuit his inftructions to the vicious propenfities
of his audience ; to fcandalize his profeftion by a conformity with
the ungodly fafnions of the world ; to be afhamed of the Crofs of
Chrift, though he fhould fee it attacked by the fubtletyof Sophifts,
or ridiculed by the wanton audacity of profane men. A defi-
ciency of Zeal indeed in religious concerns does not always pro-
ceed, either in the Clergy or Laity, from a want of Knowledge :
fenfual appetites, ungovcrned pafiions, worldly cuftoms, all com-
bine together in making moft men languid in the performance
of even clear and acknowledged duties ; yet it muft be confefted,
that a firm belief in the truth of Chriftianity refulring from a com-
prehenfive view of the proofs by which it is eftablifhed, is the
moft probable mean of producing in all men integrity of life ;
and of animating, efpecially, the Minifters of the Goipel, to a
zealous and difcreec difcharge of their paftoral functions.
Young
PREFACE. vii
Young men who are ordained from Country Schools are fre-
quently, when fettled in their Curacies, at a lofs what courfe of
ftudies to purfue : and many of them, as well as many of thofe
who have had the benefit of an Univerfity-Education, are un-
happily in no condition to expend much money in the purchafe
of Theological books, even if they knew how to make a proper
felection. Both thefe difficulties are, I hope, in fome degree
obviated by this publication 3 which contains nearly as much
matter as three times the number of ordinary volumes of the fame
fize; and the matter itfelf has been taken from Authors offuch
eftablifhed reputation, that he who will take the pains to read
and digeft what is here offered to him, will have acquired no in-
confiderable knowledge in Divinity. But in Divinity, as in every
other ftudy, a man mud think much for himfelf; thofe who have
gone before in the fame purfuit may point out the road to him,
but that is the main good they can do him : if he loiters in his
progrefs, waiting for the vigilance of others to pufh him on, he
will never get to his journey's end. The Lectures ofProfeffors
and Tutors are doubtlefs of great ufe in every fcience; but their
ufe does not confift fo much in rendering the fcience intelligible,
if we except the firft Elements of the abferact Sciences, as in di-
recting the attention of the Students to the beft books on every
fubject ; and if to this they add a frequent examination into the
progrefs which the Students have made, they will have done all
that reafonably can be expected from them. The Republic of
Letters is in very different circumftances in the prefent age from
what it was three centuries ago : the multiplicity of books which,
in the courfe'of than period, have been publifhed in every Art and
Science, has enlarged the boundaries of knowledge, and given
every man an opportunity, if he be not wanting to himfelf, of be-
coming {killed in rhat branch of Literature which he mall think
fit to cultivate. And to fpeak the truth, though there may be
fome dark points in Divinity which the labour of Learning may
ftill illuftrate, yet new books are not fo much wanted in than
Science, as inclination in the younger Clergy to explore the trea-
fures of the old one?.
A young man deftined to the Church, who thinks that he has
completed his Education as foon as he has taken his firft degree
in Arts, and quitted the walls of his College, is under a very
great miftake. His memory may have been (locked with a great
abundance of Glaflical Knowledge? his mind may have been ex-
panded by a general acquaintance with the feveral branches of
Natural Philofophy ; his reafoning faculties may have been
a 4 ftrengthened
viii PREFACE.
ftrengthened by Mathematical Refearches ; the limits of his un-
derstanding may have been in fome degree afcertained by the
fludy of Natural Religion ; in a word, he may have been admi-
rably fitted to become a Divine : but if, after this preparation,
he (lops fhort, giving himfelf up to rural an 'jfements, misfpend-
ing his time in idle avocations, blunting his faculties by fenfuaj
indulgencies, indolently or arrogantly acquiefcing in the know-
ledge he has acquired, he will never be one.
I am far from wifhing to divert the attention of the Under-
graduates from that courfe of ftudies which is eftablifhed in this
place. There is no Univerfity, I believe, in Europe, where the
degree of Bachelor of Arts is more honourably obtained than in
the Univerfity of Cambridge : the fedulity with which the young
men, in general, purfue the plan of ftudy whicii is prefcribed to
them, is highly commendable ; and, if I recommend it to chern
to let Theology make a part of that plan, it is not from an
opinion that Theological ftudies are more proper for their time
of life than any of thofe in which they are engaged 3 but from an
apprehenfion, that if they do not make fome progrefs in Divinity,
during the firft years of their Academical Educati* ., they wi|j
have no opportunity of doing it before they will be placed in
fituations which require a great proficiency in it. The Statures
indeed of the Univerfity, and of many private Colleges, though
they point out Theology as the ultimate End of all our ftudies,
do not order us to ftudy Divinity till we have ftudied almost every
other branch of Science : but it ought to be remembered that, at
the time thefe Statutes were made, young men were admitted
into the Univerfity about the age of fourteen; and confequently
commencing Mailers of Arts about the age of twenty-one, they
had a considerable interval, even after taking their fecond degree
in Arts, in \tfhich they might prepare themfelves for entering into
holy Orders.
It is not the reading many books which makes a man a Di-
vine, but the reading a few of the beft books often over, and with
attention ; thofe at leaft who are beginning their Theological
ftudies mould follow this rule. I have no fcruple therefore in
recommending it to the Students in the Univerfities, to read this
Collection twice or thrice over before they take their firft degree;
the doing this will give little interruption to their other ftudies;
and if it mould give a great deal, their time will not be mifem-
ployed. Let them dedicate a fmall portion of every day, or the
whole of every Sunday, to this occupation; and, in the courfe of
three or four years, they will eafily accomplifh the talk ; and, when
PREFACE. ix
it is accompli fiied, they may offer themfelves to the Bifhops to be
ordained, with a becoming confidence that they are not wholly
unprepared -, and they may undertake the moft important of all
human Duties the Cure of Souls without being alarmed
by a confeiouinefs of their inability to difcharge it as becomech
thefervants of the mofi high God. When I thus exprefs myfelf
concerning the fruits which may be expected from the courfe of
fludy here pointed out, I am far from infinuating, that it will fu-
perfede the neceflity of ftudying the Scriptures ihemfelves, with
the bed affiftance which can be obtained from Commentators :
on the contrary, I am perfuaded that one part of Scripture is
bed interpreted by another, and that no fort of reading can con-
tribute fo much to the producing of a fteady faith, a rational
piety, a true Chriftian charity of mind (the great ends of all our
ltudies, and all our purfuits !) as the frequent reading of the
Scriptures.
But the ftudents who are defigned for the Church, are not the
only ones to whom I would recommend the practice of fetting
apart fome portion of their time for religious inquiries ; I would
prefs it with the greateil earneftnefs and fincerity on the young
men of rank and fortune. I would efpecially intreat them to
perufe with unprejudiced minds, the whole of this Collection j
but particularly, and with the ftricteft attention, the Firft, Fourth,
and Fifth Volumes of it : they will there find fuch convincing
proofs of the Chriftian Religion, as will preferve them, I truft,
from that contagion of infidelity which is the difgrace of the age.
It is a very wonderful thing, that a being fuch as man, placed on
a little globe of earth, in a little corner of the univerfe,cut off from
all communication with the other iyftems which are difperfed
through the immenfity of fpace, imprifoned as it were on the fpot
where he happens to be born, almoft utterly ignorant of the va-
riety of fpiritual exiftences, and circumfcribed in his knowledge
of material things, by their remotenefs, magnitude, or minutenefs,
a ftranger to the nature of the very pebbles on which he treads,
unacquainted, or but very obfeurely informed by his natural fa-
culties of his condition after death -, it is wonderful, that a beino-
fuch as this mould reluctantly receive, or faftidiouily reject, the
inflruction of the Eternal God! or, if this is faying too much,
that he mould haftily, and negligently, and triumphantly con-
clude, that the Supreme Being never had condefcended to inftruct
the race of man. It might properly have been expected, that a
rational being, fo circumftanced, would have feduloufly inqui-
red into a fubject of fuch vaft importance j that he would not
have
x PREFACE.
have fufferejJ himfelf to have been diverted from the inveftiga-
tion by the purfuits of wealth, or honour, or any temporal con-
cern ; much leis by notions' taken up without attention, argu-
ments admitted without examination, or prejudices imbibed in
early youth, from the profane ridicule, or impious jeftings of
fenfual and immoral men. It is from the influence of fuch pre-
judices that I would guard that part of the riling generation which
is committed to our care, by recommending to them a ferious pe-
rufal of the Tracts which are here prefented to them. Let them
not refufe to follow this advice, becaufe it is given to them by a
churchman ; he can have no poflible intereft in giving it, except
what may refult to him from the confcioufnefs of endeavouring
to difcharge his duty, and the hope of being ferviceable to them
in this world and the next. They need not queftion his veracity,
when he fpeaks of religion as being ferviceable to them in this
world ; for it is a trite objection, and grounded on a mifappre-
henfionof thedefign of Chriftianity, which would reprefent it as
an intolerable yoke, fo oppofite to the propenfities, as to be ut-
terly deftructive of the felicity of the human mind. It is, in truth,
quite the reverfe ; there is not a fingle precept in the Gofpel,
without excepting either that which ordains the forgivenefs o£
injuries, or that which commands every one to poffefs his vejj'el in
falsification and honour, which is not calculated to promote our
happinefs. Chriftianity regulates, but does not extinguifh our
affections ; and in the due regulation of our affections confifts
our happinefs as reafonable beings. If there is one condition in
this life mere happy than another, it is, furely, that of him who
founds all his hope of futurity on the promiies of the Gofpel ;
who carefully endeavours to conform his actions to its precepts ;
looking upon the great God Almighty as his Protector here, his
Kewarder hereafter, and his everlafting Preferver. This is a
frame of mind fo perfective of our nature, that if Chriftianity,
from a btlief of which it can only be derived, was as certainly
falfe, as it is certainly true, one could not help wifhing that it
might be univerfally received in the world. Unbelievers attempt
to make profclytes to infidelity, by prcuing upon the minds of
the unlearned in Scripture knowledge, the authorities of Bcling-
brooke, Voltaire, Ilelvetius, Humet and other Deiftical writers. It
is proper that young men fliould be furnifhed with a ready an-
fwer to arguments in favour of infidelity, which are taken from
the high literary character of thole who profefs it j let them re-
member then, that Bacon, Boyle, Newton, Grotius, Locke, Euler,
— that Addijon, Hartley, lialler, Weft, Jenyns^ that Lords
Nottingham,
PREFACE. xi
Nottingham, King, Barrington, Lyttelton, with an hundred other
laymen, who were furely as eminent for their literary attainments
in every kind of fcience as either Bolingbroke or Voltaire, were
profefled believers of Chriftianity. I am quite aware that the
truth of Chriftianity cannot be eftablifhed by authorities j but
neither can its falfehood be fo eftablifhed. Arguments ad vere-
cundiam have little weight with thofe who know how to ufe
any others, but they have weight with the lazy and the ignorant
on both fides of the queftion. But though I have here fuggefted
to young men a ready anfwer to fuch of their profligate acquaint-
ance as may wifh to work upon their -prejudices in favour of in-
fidelity; yet I hope they will not content themfelves with being
prejudiced even in favour of Chriftianity : they will find in this
Collection, fuch folid arguments in fupport of its truth, as can-
not fail to confirm them, on the moft rational grounds, in the
belief of the Gofpel Difpenfation. They may wonder, perhaps, if
religion be fo ufeful a thing as is here reprefented, that their pa-
rents fhould have feldom or never converfed with them on the
fubject. If this fhould be the fact, I can only fay, that it is a
neglect, of all others, the moft to be regretted. And indeed our
mode of education, as to religious knowledge, is very defective;
the child is inftructed in its catechifm before it is able to compre-
hend its meaning, and that is ufually all the domeftic inftruc-
tion which it ever receives. But whatever may be the negli-
gence of parents in teaching their children Chriftianity, or how
forcibly foever the maxims and cuftoms of the world may con-
fpire in confirming men in infidelity, it is the duty of thofe to
whom the Education of youth is intrufted, not to defpair : their
diligence will have its ufe ; it will prevent a bad matter from be-
coming worfe ; and if this foolijhnefs of preaching, into which I
have been betrayed on this occafion, has but the effect of making
even one young man of fortune examine into the truth of the
Chriftian Religion, who would not otherwife have done it, I
fhall not repent the having been infiant out of feafon.
Difcite, O Miferi, et caufas cognofcite rerum
Quid fumus, et quidnam vi&uri gignimur : ordo
Quis datus;— quern te Deus efte
Juffit.
Thefe were queftions which even the Heathen Moralifts thought
it a fhame for a man never to have considered. How much more
cenfurable are thofe amongft ourfelves who wafte their days in
folly
xii PREFACE.
folly or vice, without ever reflecting upon the providential dif-
penfation under which they live, without having any fublimar
piety, any purer morality, any better hopes of futurity than the
Heathens had ?
In recommending this Collection to the careful perufal of the
younger Clergy, I would not be underftood to vouch for the
truth of every opinion which is contained in it ; by no means ;
there is no certainty of truth but in the word of God. Their
Bible is the only fure foundation upon which they ought to build
every article of the faith which they profefs, every point of doc-
trine which they teach. All other foundations, whether they be
thedecifions of councils, the confefiions of churches, the prefcripts
of popes, or the expofitions of private men, ought to be confi-
dered by them as fandy and unfafe, as in no wife fit to be ulti-
mately relied on. Nor, on the other hand, are they to be fafti-
dioufly rejected, as of no ufe; for though the Bible be the one in-
fallible rule by which we mult meafure the truth or falfehoodof
every religious opinion, yet all men are not equally fitted to apply
this rule; and the wifeft men want on many occafions all the helps
of human learning to enable them to underftand its precife na-
ture, and to define its certain extent. Theie helps are great and
numerous; they have been fupplied in every age, fince the death
of Chriit, by the united labours of learned men in every coun-
try where his religion has been received. Great Britain has not
been backward in her endeavours to eftablifh the truth, and to il-
luftrate the doctrines of Chriftianity: fhe has not abounded fo
much in fyftematic Divines as Germany and Holland have done;
yet the mod difficult points of Theology have been as well dif-
culTed by our Englifh Divines, as by thofe of any other nation.
In proof of this, I might mention the works of Pearibn, Mede,
Barrow, Burnet, Chillingv/orth, Stillingfleet, Clarke, Tillotfon,
Taylor, Benfon, Jortin, Seeker, and an hundred others; but
the fermons preached at Boyle's Lectin e, and the Collection of
Tracts againft Popery, render every other argument in fupport
of the obfervation wholly unnecefTary. The freedom of inquiry
too, which has fubfifted in this country during the prefent cen-
tury, has eventually been of great fervice to the caule of Chrif-
tianity. It muft be acknowledged that the works of pur Deifti-
cal writers have made fome few converts to infidelity at home,
and that they have furnifhed the Efprits forts of France, and the
Frey-Geijlers of Germany, with every material objection to our
religion, which they have of late years difplayed with much af-
fectation of originality : but at the fame time, we muft needs allow,
that
PREFACE. xiii
that thefe works hare ftimulated fome diftinguifhed characters
amongft the Laity, and many amongft the Clergy, to exert their
talents in removing iuch difficulties in the Chriftian fyilem, as
would otherwife be likely to perplex the unlearned, to fhipwreck
the faith of the unftable, and to induce a reluctant fcepticifrn
into the minds of the mod lerious and beft intentioned. Some
difficulties ftill remain ; and it would be a miracle greater than
any we are inftructed to believe, if there remained none •, if a
being with but five icanty inlets of knowledge, feparated but
yefterday from his mother Earth, and to-day finking again into
her bofom, could fathom the depths of the wildom and know-
ledge of Him which is, which was, and which is to come, the
Lord God Almighty, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and
ever.
We live in a difiblute but enlightened age ; the reftraints of
our Religion are ill fuited to the profligacy of our manners ;
and men are foon induced to believe that fyftem to be falfe,
which we wifh to find fo : that knowledge, moreover, which
fpurns with contempt the illufions of fanaticifm and the tyranny
of fuperftition, is often unhappily mifemployed, in magnifying
every little difficulty attending the proof of the truth Chrif-
tianity, into an irrefragable argument of its falfehood. The
Chriftian Religion has nothing to apprehend from the ftricteft
investigation of the moft learned of its adverfaries ; it fuffers
only from the mifconceptions of fciolifts, and filly pretenders to
fuperior wifdom : a little learning is far more dangerous to the
faith of thofe who poffefs it, than ignorance itfelf. Some, I know,
affect to believe, that as the reftoration of letters was ruinous to
the Romifh Religion, fo the further cultivation of them will be
fubverfive of Chriftianity itfelf: of this there is no danger. It
may be fubverfive of the Reliques of the Church of Rome by
which other churches are ftill polluted; of perfecutions, of ana-
themas, of ecclefiaftical domination over God's heritage, of all
the filly outworks which the pride, the fuperftition, the knavery
of mankind have erected around the citadel of our faith ; but the
citadel itfelf is founded on a rock, the gates of hell cannot
prevail againft it, its mafter-builder is God ; its beauty will be
found ineffable, and its ftrength impregnable, when it mall be
freed from the frippery of human ornaments, cleared from the
rubbilh of human bulwarks. It is no fmall part of the province
of a teacher of Chriftianity, to diftinguilh between the word of
God, and the additions which men have made to it. The objec-
tions of unbelievers are frequently levelled againft what is not
Chriftianity,
xiv PREFACE.
Chriftianity, but mere human fyftem ; and he will be belt able
to defend the former, who is leaft ftudious to fupport the airy pre-
tentions of the latter. The effect of eftablifhed fyftems in
obftructing truth, is to the laft degree deplorable : every cne fees
it in other churches, but fcarcely any one fufpects it in his own.
Calvin, I queftion not, thought it almoft impoffible that the Scrip-
tures could ever have been fo far perverted as to afford the Ro-
manics any handle for their doctrine of Tranfubftantiation, or
that the underftanding of any human being could have been
fo far debafed, or rather lb utterly annihilated, as to believe in
it for a moment : yet this fame Calvin followed St. Auguftine in
the doctrine of abfolute perfonal reprobation and election, incul-
cating it as a fundamental article of faith, with nearly the fame
unchriftian zeal which infatuated him when he fattened Servetus
to the ftake. A thoufand inftances of this blind attachment to
fyftem might be taken from the Ecclefiaftical Hiftory of every
century ; indeed the whole of it is little more than the hiftory of
the ftruggles of different fects to overturn the fyftems of others,
in order to build up their own 3 and the great leffon which every
feet, and every individual of every feet, ought to learn from its
perufal, is — Moderation. Want of genuine moderation towards
thofe who differ from us in religious opinions, feems to be the
moft unaccountable thing in the world. Every man, who has
any religion at all, feels within himfelf a fironger motive to judge
right, than you can poffibly fugged to him ; and, if he judges
wrong, what is that to you ? To his own mafter he ftandeth
or falleth; his wrong judgment may affect his own falvation, it
cannot affect yours ; for, in the words of Tertullian nee alii
obeft aut prodejl alterius religio ; this you muft admit, unlefs you
think it your duty to inftruct him ; but inftruction may be given
with moderation; and confidering that the Bible is as open to
him as it is to you, you ought not to be over certain that it is
your duty to prefs your inftruction upon him ; for what
is, ordinarily fpeaking, your inftruction, but an attempt to
bring him over to your opinion ? This principle fhould be
received with great caution, or it may do much mifchief ; for
it is on this principle that the Roman Catholics light up the
fires of the inquifition, and compafs fea and land to make a
profelyte a profelyte ! to what we Proteftants believe to
be the delufion of Satan, the very canker of Chriftianity,
the grand apoftafy from the Gofpel foretold by St. Paul.
The Catholics however in this point act confiftently ; for, be-
lieving in the infallibility of their church, they have a plea for
their
PREFACE. xv
their zeal in bringing every one within its pale, which can never
be urged by Protectants^ with any fhadow of juftice and pro-
priety.
There are many queftions in Divinity, in the inveftigating of
which the mind fluctuates with an irkfome uncertainty, unable
to perceive fuch a preponderance of argument as will warrant it
in embracing as true, either the one fide or the other. This
hefitation arifes, in many cafes, from our not underftanding the
full meaning of the language, be it common or figurative, in
which a doctrine is revealed. In fome, it proceeds from our
attempting to apprehend definitely, what is expreiTed indeter-
minately or clearly, what God hath not thought proper clearly
to reveal ; in others, it is to be attributed to an indecifion of
temper, to which fome men are peculiarly fubject : but let it
originate from what caufe it may, it is far more tolerable than an
arrogant temerity of judgment. A fufpicion of fallibility would
have been an ufeful principle to the profeflbrs of ChriftiaRJty in
every age ; it would have choaked the fpirit of perfecution in its
birth, and have rendered not only the church of Rome, but every
church in Chriftendom, more flay of affuming to itfelf the proud
title of Orthodox, and of branding every other with the oppro-
brious one of Heterodox, than any of them have hitherto been.
There are, you will fay, doubtlefs, fome fundamental doctrines in
Chriflianity. Paul, the Apoftle, has laid down one founda-
tion; and he tells us, that other foundation can no man lay, than
that is laid, which is Jefus The Chrifi. -But this propo-
rtion Jefus is the Meffiah includes, you will reply,
feveral others, which are equally true. I acknowledge that it
does fo; and it is every man's duty to fearch the Scriptures, that
he may know what thofe truths are ; but I do not conceive it to
be any man's duty, to anathematize thofe who cannot fubfcribe
to his catalogue of fundamental Chriftian verities. That man is
not to be efteemed an Atheift, who acknowledges the exiftence of
a God, the Creator of the univerfe, though he cannot affent to all
the truths of natural religion, which other men may undertake to
deduce from that principle: nor is he to be efteemed a Dei ft,
who acknowledges that Jefus of Nazareth is indeed the Chrift, the
Saviour of the world, though he cannot affent to all the truths of
revealed religion, which other men may think themfelves war-
ranted in deducing from thence. Still you will probably rejoin,
there muft be many truths in the Chriftian religion, concerning
which no one ought to hefitate, inafmuch as, without a belief in
them, he cannot be reputed a Chriftian. — Reputed ! by whom ? Bv
Jefus
xvi PREFACE.
Jefus Chrift his Lord and his God, or by you ? — ■ — RauH expo1-
fitors of points of doubtful difputation ; intolerant fabricators
of metaphyfical Creeds, and incongruous Syftems of Theology !
Do you undertake to meafure the extent of any man's under-
ftanding, except your own ; to eftimate the ftrength and ori-
gin of his habits of thinking ; to appreciate his merit or demerit
in the ufe of the talent which God has given him, fo as
unerringly to pronounce that the belief of this or that doctrine
is neceffary to his falvation ? It is undoubtedly neceffary to
yours, if you are perfuaded that it comes from God ; but
you take too much upon you, when you erect yourfelf into
an infallible judbe of truth and falfehood. We, as Chrif-
tians, are under no uncertainty as to the being of a Godj
as to his moral government of the world ; as to the terms on
•which finners may be reconciled to him ; as to the redemption
that is in Jejus Chrift \ as to a refurrection from the dead ; as of*
a future ftate of retribution ; nor with refpect to other important
queftions, concerning which the wifeft of the Heathen Philo-
fophers were either wholly ignorant, or had no fettled notions.
But there are other fubjects on which the Academicorum i-rro^n may
be admitted, I apprehend, without injuring the foundations of
our Religion : fuch are the queftions which relate to the power
of Evil Spirits to fufpend the laws of nature, or to actuate the
minds of men; to the materiality or immateriality of the
human foul ; the ftate of the dead before the general refur-
rection ; the refurrection of the fame body j the duration of fu-
ture punifhments ; and many others of the fame kind. Some
one will think that I here fpeak too freely, and accufe me, pro-
bably, as an encourager of fceprical and latitudinarian principles.
. What ! Shall the church of Chrift never be freed from the
narrow-minded contentions of bigots ; from the infults of men
who know not what fpirit they are of, when they would ftint the
Omnipotent in the exercife of his mercy, and bar the doors of
heaven againft every fe6t but their own ? Shall we never learn
to think more humbly of ourfelves, and lefs defpicably of others?
to believe that the Father of the univerfe accommodates not his
judgments to the wretched w,ranglings of pedantic Theologues j
but that efery one, who, with an honeft intention, and to the beft
of his ability feeketh the truth, whether he findeth it or not, and
worketh righteoufnefs, will be accepted of him ? I have no re-
gard fdr latitudinarian principles, nor for any principles, but the
principles of Truth; and Truth every man muft endeavour to
inveftigate for himfelfi and, ordinarily fpeaking, he will be mod
fuccefsful
PREFACE. xvii
fuefcefsful in his endeavours, who examines, with candour and
care, what can be urged oti each fide of a greatly controverted
qucftion. This fort of examination may, in fome inftances, pro-
duce a doubt, an hefitation, a diffident fufpenfion of judgments
but it will at the fame time produce mutual forbearance and good
temper towards thofe who differ from us; our charicy will be en-
larged, as our underftanding is improved. Partial examination
is the parent of pertinacity of opinion; and a froward propenfity
to be angry with thofe who queftion the validity of our principles,
or deny the jutlnefs of our conclufions, in any matter relpeciing
philoibphy, policy, or religion, is an infallible mark of preju-
dice ; of our having grounded our opinions on fafhion, fancy,
intereff. ; on the unexamined tenets of Our family, .feci, or party ;
on any thing rather than on the folid foundation of cool and dif-
paffionate reafoning Iliaccs intra muros peccatur et extra — —
Churchmen as well as DifTenters, and diffenters ao well as church-
men, are apt to give a degree of affent to opinions beyond what
they can give a reafon for; this is the very effence of prejudice:
it is difficult for any man entirely to diveft himfelf of all preju-
dice, but he may furely take care that it be not accompanied
with ;in uncharitable propenfity to ftigmatize with reproachful
appellations, thofe who cannot meafure the rectitude of the Di-
vine difpeniations by his rule, nor feek their way to heaven, by
infilling on the path which he, in his overweening wifdom, has
arrogantly prefcribed as the'cnly one which can lead men thither.
This intolerant fpirit has abated much of its violence in the.
courfe of this century arnenpr ouifelves : we pray to God that k
may be utterly extinguifhed in every part of Chriftendom,
that the true fpirit of Chriftiamty, which is the fpirit of m
nefs, peace, and love, may be introduced in its ftead. If
ferent men, in carefully and confcientioufly exami
Scriptures, fhould arrive at different concluii n on
points of tne laft importance; we truhb that G
knows what every man is capable of, w '
him that is in error. We truft that he will pj .
tarian, if he be in an error, becaufe he ha
the dread of becoming an Idolater of gi lory, to
another which he conceives to be due ,to God aio.ne. I
fhipper of Jefus Chrift be in an error, we truft that God
pardon his miftake, becaufe he has fallen into it from a c
of difobeying what he conceives to be revea:.:c cono
nature of the Son, or commanded concerning the honour to be given
him. Both are actuated by the fame orinciple~'i Hii FEAR
Vol. I. b OF
xviii PREFACE.
OF GOD ; and, though that principle impels them into dif-
ferent roads, it is our hope and belief, that, if they add to their
faith charity, they will meet in heaven. If any one thinks
differently on the Subject, I will have no contention with him ; for
I feel no difpofition to profelyte others to any opinion of mine :
efteeming it a duty to fpeak what I think, I have no fcruple in
doing that ; but to do more is to affect a tyranny over other men's
minds ; it is to encounter not only the reafon, but the paffions,
prejudices, and inte*refts of mankind; it is to engage in a con-
flict, in which Christian charity feldom efcapes unhurt on either
fide.
Too much pains cannot be taken by the Clergy in examining
the external and internal evidences of the truth of the Gofpel, in
order that they may generate in their own minds a full conviction
of the unfpeakable importance of the work in which they are en-
gaged ; but that conviction being once produced, their time will
be far more ufefully employed in difcharging their paStoral office
with fidelity, than in weighing the importance of all the difcordanc
fyStems of faith, which have in different ages and countries,
not merely occupied the attention of Schoolmen and Monks, but
uniheathed the Swords of princes, and polluted the temple of
Chrifi with more blood than was ever Shed on the altars ofMo/ocb>
or in honour of Vitzlilipitzuli, the God of Mexico. Happily for
our age, this fpirit of perfecution is well nigh extinguished ; for
notwithstanding the fad fate of the Calas family in France ; not-
withftanding the demon of fanaticifm which Spread its delufion
over London and Edinburgh, on the relaxation of the laws
againSt Popery ; notwithstanding the burning zeal of a few-
furious bigots amongft every fed of Chriftians -, (till may we
foretcl, from obferving the figns of the times, that the sra is ap-
proaching very fait, wlien Theological Acrimony fhall be Swal-
lowed up in Evangelical Charity, and a liberal toleration become
the distinguishing feature of every church in Christendom. The
ruling powers in PioteStant and Catholic States begin at length
every where to perceive, that an uniformity of fentiment in mat-
ters of religion is a circumstance impoffible to be obtained ; that
it has never yet exiftcd in the church of ChriSt, from the Apof-
tolic age to our own ; and they begin to be afhamed of the Sines,
confutations, imprifonments, tortures, of all the unjuit and ian-
guinary efforts which they have Severally made ufe of to procure
it. They perceive too that a diverfity in religious opinions may
fubfiSt among the Subjects of the fame State, without endanger-
ing the common weal j and they begin to think it reafonable, that
no
PREFACE. xix
no man fliould be abridged in the exercife of natural rights,
merely on the fcore of Religion. Thefe enlarged fentiments
proceed not, I would willingly hope, from what the Germans
have called In differ entifm in Religion j but partly from a perfect
knowledge of its true end, which is Chanty ; and partly from
that confeioufnefs of intellectual weaknefs, which is evtr mofl
confpicuous in minds the moft enlightened ; and which, where -
ever it fubfifts, puts a flop to dogmatifm and intolerance of
every kind.
The Books and Tracts which I have here printed, are all of
them fo well known, that there is little need to give a long
account of any of them. I have chofen them out of a great
variety, which fuggefted themfelves to my mind -, but I have no
expectation that every one fliould be pleafed with the choice
which I have made. I once knew a Divine of the Church of
England, of great eminence in it, and defervedly efteemed a
good fcholar, who, having accidentally taken up, in a friend's
apartment, a book written by a Diffenter, haftily laid it down
again, declaring, that c< he never read diffenting Divinity." I
ought to apotogize to Men of this Gentleman's opinion, for
having made fo much ufe of the works of the DifTenters in this
Collection -, but the truth is, I did not at all confider the quarter
from whence the matter was taken, but whether it v/as good,
and fuited to my purpofe ; it was a circumftance of utter indif-
ference to me, whether it was of Paul, or A'pollos, or Cephas,
provided it was of Chrift.
As this Collection will probably fall into the hands of fome,
who may wifh to become acquainted with the fort of Queftions
which are ufually maintained by thofe who proceed to the degree
of Bachelor or Doctor in Divinity, I thought it might be of fer-
vice to them, if I put down a few of thofe which have been
publicly difputed on in the Theological Schools at Cambridge,
within the laft twenty-five or thirty years. I have not obferved
much order in arranging the queftions : the reader will remark,
that they are not all of equal importance; and, what he may judge
more extraordinary, he will perceive, that the fame doctrine is
not maintained in them all. With regard to their importance,
that muft be expected to be variable, as they have been propofed
by men of very different talents and judgements. A famenefs of
doctrine might indeed have been fecured by the ProfeiTor, with-
out whofe approbation no queftion can be propofed for difpu-
tation : but I, for my part, (though fome will probably blame me
for it) have thought it more liberal and reafonable to fuffer this
b 2 contrariety,
XX
PREFACE.
contrariety, in fome inftances, to take place, than to oblige men
to fupport what they did not believe, or to preclude them from
fupporting what they did believe to be revealed in the Scriptures.
Truth, I hope, has not fuffered from this conduct : the mere
acceptance of a queftion is not underftood to lay the Profeflbr
under afiy obligation to fupport it in the difputation ; if he thinks
it not founded in the word of God, it is his duty to endeavour to
fhew the Refpondent wherein he is miftaken ; and if he be not
able to do that, ftill there is no fear of error being eftablifhed by
his inability to detect it, when it is confidered before what a
learned audience the difputation is held; that the Refpondent
muft either be a Bachelor of Divinity, or a Mailer of Arts, of
four years (landing; and that three Matters of Arts are the
regular Opponents at every Divinity Ad.
QtMLSTIONES
PREFACE. xxi
QU^ESTIONES QUjEDAM THEOLOGIC/E
IN ACADEMIA C AN TABRIGIENSI,
AB ANNO I755 USQJIE AD ANN. 1/35,
Publico difputatas Tub Praefidio S. Theologize Profetfbrum Reg.
THOMiE RUTHERFORTH, RICARDI WATSON.
Qu^est.
1 "TWTON fuit Deo indignum mortis poena fancire, ne primi ho-
JL^J minum generis parentes unius cujufdam arboris frudtu
vefcerentur.
2 Quod genus humanum fit laboribus et morti fubjeclum propter
Adami peccatum, docetur in facra pagina, nee eft rationi con-
ttarium.
3 Lapfum olim fuifle Angelorum patet ex facris Uteris.
4 Verus erat Terpens, per quem Eva decepta fuit ; fed facultatibus,
quae ipfi non effent naturaliter infitae, utebatur.
5 Univerfus ferpentum cultus apud Gentiles ad confirmandam genera-
lem interpretationem Diaboli fub ferpentis forma latentis, prout
in facris Scripturis traditur, apte conrenit atque inde denvari
videtur.
6 Prafcientia divinanon erat caufa lapfus Adami.
7 Peccatum originis non eft in imitatione Adami fitum, fed eft vitium
et depravatio naturae cujuflibet hominis ab Adamo propagati.
8 Lapfus Adami humanam naturam ad peccatum procliviorem red-
didit.
9 Chriftus ante erat quam humana natura ab eo induebatur.
10 Non fuit indignum FilioDei, hominum generis redimendi caufa, hu-
manam naturam induere.
11 Sacrificia juffu Dei principio funt conftituta.
12 Sacrificia principio conftituta funt ut effent typi mortis Chrifti.
13 Remiffio peccatorum per Mediatorem et Sacrificium vicarium haud
Deo eft indigna.
14 Satisfaclio propeccatis hominum per mortem Chrifti non repugnat
rationi.
15 Chriitum ipfum infontem, a Deo ad mortem datum efle pro fontibus,
eft credibile.
16 Quod traditur in facris Scripturis de lapfu, redempfcione, et futuro
ftatuhumani generis, non contradicit divinis perfedlionibus.
17 Chriftiana revelatio rationis inventa fuperat rerum divinarum nu-
mero et certitudine.
j8 Ratio fola nullam potcft invenire conditionem, qua Deus velit ho-
minibus dare peccatorum veniam et impunitatem.
b 3 19 Mors
xxii PREFACE.
19 Mors Chrifti eft propria et plena fatisfactio pro peccatis hominumJ
20 Chiiftus pro omnibus eft mortuus.
21 Opera juftorum vitam seternam per fe non merentur.
22 Juftitia Chrifti non fie hominibus imputatur, ut Dei judicio, ipfl
cenfeantur earn praeftitifle.
23 Coram Deo homo reputatur juftus non propter meritum fuum, fed
propter meritum Jefu Chrifti, per fidem in ejus nomine.
24 Neque docent facrae Scripture?, neque articuli Ecclefiae Anglicanas,
Chrifti juftitiam nobis imputari in juftificationem, fed fidem
folam.
25 Paulus et Jacobus, quanquam de hominum juftiheatione verbis dif-
crepare videantur, fententiis tamen non difcrepant.
26 Juftificatio nee fine fide et poenitentia poteft comparari, nee fine fidei
et peenitentiae fruitibus confervari.
27 Sacrae Scripturae nullibi docent homines per fidem folam, bonorum
operum fruclibus carentem, fupremo die juftificandos,
28 Non eft ea religionis Chrifti ratio, ut omnibus qui per earn jufti
apud Chriftum habeantur, certafalutis confequendae fiducia in
hac vita ingeneretur.
29 Fides Chriftiana nee cum ab hominibus fufcipiatur, nee poftquam
fufcepta fit, rationis ufum afpernatur.
30 Fuit Mofes verus Propheta a Deo mifius.
31 Non fuit a Dei natura alienum lfraelitas in populum fibi peculiarem
eligere.
32 Mofes fpem vitae aeternae Ifraelitis oftendit.
33 Diftributio praemiorum et poenarum temporalium quae promifia fuit
in libris Mofaicis, non erat pro meritisfingulorum, nee i-n rebus
adminiftrandis ka erat ac~ta.
34 Colligi non poteft ex libris Mofaicis veteres Judaeos aeterna im-
piorum fupplicia apud inferos pati.
35 Lex Mofaica non ideo Deo indigna cenfenda eft, quia docet, Deum
iniquitatem patrum in filios vifitare.
36 Poena talionis, quam lex Mofaica conftituit, non fuit Deo legiflatore
indigna.
37 Licentia falfos Deos colendi non fuit Ifraelitis concefla.
38 Quod religio Judaica fit minus perfecla quam Chriftiana, id nihil
probat contra divinam hujus et illius originem.
39 lfraelitas, fpoliis iEgyptiorum auferendis, legem naturae non viola-
bant.
40 Non erat Deo indignum Canaanaeos Ifraelitis exfeindendos tradere.
41 Filia Jephthae non fuit immolata.
42 Per legem Mofaicam Judaeis non licuit pro vi&imis homines immo-
Jare.
43 Mandatum Abrahamo datum de immolatione Ifaaci ad mortem
Chrifti repraefentandam, haud alienum fuitdivinae fapientiaeaut
juftitise.
44 Non fuit Deo indignum diras Noachichas in Chamum conficere.
45 Nullae in libro Pfalmorum obnunciantur dirae, quae oftcndai.t cos
non fuifte divino initinctu confenptos,
46 Scripture
PREFACE. xxiii
46 Scriptura qua docemw " Deum cor Pharoahonis obfirmafle" nihil
in fe continet contra Dei benignitatem; quantum ex rationeaut
revelatione tunc temporis Ifraelitis conceila colligi poteft.
47 Hominibus qui ante diluvium vixerunt non licuit, ei'cae caufa, ani-«
malia madh;re.
48 Diluvium olim fuifie univerfale traditur in facra Scriptura, nee eft
hiftoriae vel civili vel naturali contrarium.
49 Veritas miraculorum, quae in VeteriTeftamentotraduntur, cum ido-
lolatria moribufque depravatis Judseorum conltare poteft.
50 Vaticinia quibus denunciavit Mofes, Paleftinam ob inobedientiam
Judaeorum incultam ab iis fterilemque futuram effe, hodie im-
plentur.
51 Deus cum dixerit Ifraelitis, fe prophetam Mofi fimilem ex fratribus
eorum effe excitaturum, hoc promiffo folum Memam defig-
navit.
52 Aliquae extant praedi&iones, temporibusMofis antiquiores, quae ad
Chriftum funt referendae.
53 Ex veterum prophetarum praediclionibus duo Mefiiae, alter Davidis
alter Jofephi filius, non erant in mundum venturi.
54 Sccptrum quod non ante erat a Juda difceffurumquam Shilohadve-
nerit, poteftatem tribus regendae defignabat.
55 Ifraelitae circumcifionis ritum ab iEgyptiis non receperunt.
56 Mare rubrum, Ifraelitis per illud tranfeuntibus, ad utrumque iatus
inftar muri per miraculum ftetit.
57 Confufio linguarum Babylonica abfque Dei interventu explanari ne-
quit.
58 Miracula funt idonea argumenta divinae miflionis.
59 Miracula fuiffe olim edita fatis probari poteft ex humano tefii-
monio.
60 Credibile eft, Deum poffe miracula facere, et interdum velle, et hu-
mano teftimonio patet feciiTe.
61 Miracula non nifi a Deo, aut a Creatura particulari ejus juflu et po-
tentia agente, efficiuntur.
62 Magi ./Egyptii vera coram Pharoahone miracula fecerunt.
63 Tentatio Chrifti in deferto fuit vifio a Deo miffa.
64 Tentatio Chrifti in deferto non fuit vifio a Deo mifla.
65 Nee per vifionem, nee per Diabolum, fub qualibet externa forma,
fimiliter autem ac homo Chriftus tentabatur.
66 Miracula in Evangeliis traditahiftoriam cum ipfis conjunclam adeo
non infirmant, ut abfque illorum ope rerum geftarum feries ex-
plicari nequeat.
67 Chrifti Apoftolis vita defunclis credibile eft ceffaffe miracula.
68 Extraordinaria fpiritus fanelii dona ftatim poll tempora Apoftolorum
in Ecclefia Chriftiana non ceflaverunt.
69 Spiritus fanclus eft perfona.
70 Chriftianorum eft officium fpiritum fan£lum colere et precari.
71 Dantur in Chrifto fidelibus certa quasdam fpiritus fancli auxilia:
72 Fidei et virtutis adjumenta quae homines a fpiritu fan&o habent,
eorum libertatem non tollunt.
b 4 73 Spiritus
PREFACE.
us fab&us interiors fidei ac virtutis adjumcnta hominibus ita
', ut nuiio ai.iini tactu percipiaritur.
. i . Chriitianas Rebgionis fufcipienuse ac praeftandic
ini animis a ipiriru fancto lubminifirantur.
Chi .' -nam plene et perfecte iirtelligeiuiain ammo
. : inifque imbuto.
76 V iftianae. Rejigionis evidcntia non a fpiritu fanclo infpi-
.to rauonis ul'u pendet.
elafionura genera, pro varia mum et hominum condi-
ihuset ingeniis accommodantur.
m de rtdimuido hominum gentie, prout Chrifti
grada iatur.
'eftarntsrtfi praedic'itux Chriftiana Difpenfatio.
80 CJ toli abroganda lege ;Vlofaica de divina legtflatcris
n
^briftus humano genpri tradjdit non contir.etur lege
ida.
82 Non eft pes indiffejens quarn qiiifque rciigionem colai.
89 hrror in da&rinis rejigionis ipocuiativis noji eft innecens,
1 \ . m Seriptur.se confignatufn novx revciationes non funt
e&andae.
;.- M acres prophetas Judaeis prominus non futurus erat rex
g6 V< .is pacct ex impletione przedictionum
num.
I '.','• i a Deo promiffus.
88 Praedicvtjones vetcrurn prophe.tamm non ita citantur in Novo Tcfta-
I a caeteris oiienderent Jehim efle
nitana et flatus oopuli Judaici hodiernus pro magno
I . -... ae Roligionis.
90 Deui nulla' lege ant va fignificavit, fe nolle Judaeorum
m Chriftianorurn oivitajero civcm adlcfiputium
gi T; fidei . ChriftianjQ.ante Confrantini tempora probat aucto-
■ l!'am-
92 CoftVfiruq Dtvi Pauli ortum fuum non debuit fuperftitioni, fed mi-
ed/itis et vericati Chnft.iar.ae Religionis.
93 J{,x vjr ms Chrifti et Apoftolojum Chriftianre icligionis ve-
probari poteft.
94 Miracula Chrifti- una cum dodrina probant dlvinam ejus mif*
' !T1,
;fti ipfa per fevalent aclprobandam divinatn ejus mifi
; ' ndam revelatiojiis doftrinam non fatis valet interna evi-
97 j: Chiiflianorum, 4e rebus quas in rcligione Ghrifl ;ia
.cpntineantujr, non oftendunt religion ; e fa :.r.i.
0$J \. , , .. ■ et m enda ;;uctoi itatem facia? Scripture non
in rebus ad riuemet mores fpeftanti bus.
qq Difienfioaes
PREFACE. xwr
99 DiflVnfiones inter Apoftolos de circumcifione gentium divin . n
Chriftianae religionis auctoritatem non impugn..!,:.
ioo Caete^i Apoftoh cum Paulo confentiebant, judseos fine obtetj
randa lege Mofaica poflc per ChrTftum falucem cqnfequi.
ioi Auctoritas'teftimonii quo Religio Chrifti connrmatiir temporum
longinquitate non imminutaeft.
102 Nihil inEvaqgelioMatjhai traditur ex quoprobari poflit, id fcrip-
turn fuiffe poft excidium Hierofolynaitanum.
103 Apoftoli nihii tradiderunt, ex quo intelligamus credidiffe eos mun-
dum fuis temporibus finem fuiffe habiturum.
104 Religio Chrifliana non ideo vituperanda eft quod nihil de amicitia
privata vol de amoie patriae prceicr ipitrrit.
105 Divma Chnftianae religionis audtoritas non imminuitur ex eo quod
nondum univeriis innottut.
106 Jefuitae Chnfli caufam male agunt tolerando ritus et cereinonias,
quas apud Sinas in honorem Confufii, parentum, caeteroi umque
majorum mos eft celebrare.
107 Magiftratui jus non competit fubditos coercendi ad culium ilium
divinum celebrandum, lege licet ftabilitum, quern lpfi vel rationi
vei revelationi haud conlentaneum cenfent.
108 Non eft libertati Chriftiar.ae alienum utin rebus indifferent! bus ad
cultum Dei fpectantibus ecclefia auftoritatem habeat.
IC9 In fidei controvcrfiis nulla datur ecclefiae au&oritas quae jus tollit
privati judicii.
1 10 Chriftianorumhominum qui fe ad civitatis fuaa religionem confor-
mare nolint, jus nullum violatur ft e muneribus civilibus lege
lataexcludantur.
1 1 1 Induigentia Pontificiis miner concefla nee rationi, nee facris literis,
nee reipublicae faluti repugnat.
1 12 Vis externa non eft hominibus adhibenda propter religionem quam
profitentur,
113 Unaquaeque ecclefia jure poftulare poteft, ut ii quibus publice do-
cendi munus committat, religionis Chriftianae inftitutionibus,
ejus aucloritate comprobatis, aflentiant.
114 Et rationi et facris Scripturis confentaneum eft ut homines eccle-
fiaftici poteftati civili fubjiciantur.
115 Non eft Chriftianisinterdidum,utquavis de caufa fidem fuam ullo
jurejurando ne aftringant.
116 Nulla in civilibus hominutnofficiis mutatio eft fa£ta per Chrifti re-
ligionem.
j 17 Non eft a Chrifti religione alienum civili au&oritate recipi ac fta-
biliri.
118 Chriftrana religio incrementa fua in primis ecclefiaes facialis nop, de-
buit caufis, ut vocantur, fecundis, led partim internae fuse ex-
ceilentiae, partim aucb.ris fui poteftati livinse.
j 19 Perfpicuitas facrorum iibrorum non efficit ut iupervacancum fit ho-
mines ad religionem Chrifti inftki
120 Miniftris ecclefiae debetui aliquod liip^ndium.
321 Forma rdgiminis in ecclefia Anglicana conftituti, et verbo Dei et
ecclefia primitive ufu fajicitur,
122 Ecclefiaftici
xxvi PREFACE.
122 Ecckfiaftici regiminis in Anglia et in Scotia conftituti, neutra for»
ma, aut juri hominum naturali aut verbo Dei repugnat.
123 A Chrifti et Apoftolorum inftitutione patet, ordinem fuifle Epifco-
patus a Prefbyteriatu diverfum, eoque fuperiorcm.
124 Statae precum formulas funt maxime conformcs facris Scripturis et
ecciefiae primitivae praxi.
125 Liturgise in diverfis eccleliis diverfas, modo facris literis haud ad-
vcrfentur, non funt improbandae.
126 Precatio Dominica eft formula quam omnes Chrifti difcipuli in
Deo precando adhibcre debcnr.
127 Piece? et publics et privatae tanttim in nomine Chrifti funt pera-
gendae.
128 Creaturam cultu religiofo profequi non licet.
129 E Stephani martyris moribundi precibus patet Jefum Chriftum effe
Deum.
130 Chriftus fummo cultu, quern Deo Patri reddimus, colenduseft.
131 Chriftus qua Mediator novi foederis eft adasquatum obje&um cul-
tus religiofi.
132 FiJeiin ties perfonas ejufdem fubftantiae, potential, et aeternitatis,
Patrem, Filtum, et Spiritum Sanctum, unius Dei cultus non
repugnat.
133 Myfteria revelationis non oftendunt earn non efle a Deo traditam.
134 Deo indignum non fuit ut inftituta pofitiva in religione traderet.
135 Pofitiva religionis praecepta non minus obligantquam moralia.
136 Duo tantum novi foederis facramenta inftituit Chriftus.
137 Confirmatio, pcenitentia, ordo, matrimonium, et extrema uncuo
pro facr?mentisEvangelicis non funt habenda.
J 38 Ccena Dominica Epuli facrificalis rationem non habet.
139 Nullum rn mifla fit facrificium quo peccata viventium ac mortuo-
rum expiantur.
140 Animus Chriftianus nectflario praecedit dignam Euchariftise per-
ceptionem.
j.; 1 Euchariftia ufque ad fecundum Chrifti adventum ab ejus difcipulis
celebrari debet.
142 Calix Laicis non eft denegandus.
143 Do&rina pontificiorum de tranfubftantiatione nee rationi, nee fen-
fuum ttftimonio, nee facris Scripturis confentaneum eft.
144 Tranful-ftantiatio non eft asque ciedibilis ac Trinitas perfonarum
in una eflentia.
145 Leges Anglicanne quae vetant munera reipublicas cuiquam deferri
qui nolit Euchariftiam percipere juxta ecclefiae Anglicanaeprae-
icriptum Euchariftia? religionem non polluunt.
146 Recle in ccclefia Anglicana fancitur ne quis nifi flexis genubus coe-
nam Domini capiat.
J47 Religio Chriftiana poftulat ut qui earn fufcipiant aqua bapti-
zentur.
148 Baptifmus parvulorumomninoinecclefia retinendus eft, ut qui cum
Chrifti inftitutione optime conveniat.
149 Lex Chrifti non pcftulat ut omnes qui baptizentur in aquam im-
mergantur.
150 Aquas
PREFACE/ xxvii
150 Aquae afperfio feu affufio in baptifmate adminiftrnndo non irritum
redd it facramentum.
151 Omne peccatum quod Chriftiani poft baptifmum committant, fl
poenitendo corrigatur, eos a falute non excludit.
152 Sabbatum erat, ante legem per Mofem traditam, a Deo confti-
tutum.
153 Praecepta Mofaica de modo obfervandi Sabbatum Chriftianos non
obligant.
154 Sabbatum ab ultimo die feptimanae rede eft inter Chriftianos ad
primum tranflatum.
155 Ad diem Dominicum religiofe obfervandum cundi Chriftiani te-
nentur.
156 Dodrina abfolutae praedeftinationis cum divinis pugnat attributis.
157 Dodrina praedeftinationis et eledionis ad futurum aut miferiae aut
felicitatis ftatum ex facra Scriptura colligi nequit.
158 Praedeftinatio Paulina tota fpedat ad Gentium vocationem.
150 In libris novi foederis nihil de praedeftinatione traditur quod dili-
gentiam hominum in officiis praeftandis jure imminuat.
160 Sacrse Scripturae nullibi docent eos qui de Chrifto nunquam audi-
veruntnon pone falutem aeternam confequi.
161 Salus noftra in fide in Chriftum redemptorem confiftit.
162 Dodrina ecclefiae pontificiae de purgatorio nullis vel facrae Scriptu-
rae vel rationis nititur fundamentis.
163 Sanctorum et Angelorum cultus et invocatio apud pontificios eft
idololatria.
164 Ipfe jejunandi actus per fe et fua natura vim et rationem religionis
non habet.
165 Confeffio privata facerdoti facta non eft ad falutem necefTaria.
166 Plebi et indodis facrorum librorum lectio non eft interdicenda.
167 . Nee Petrus nee Pontifex Romanus conftitutus fuit a Chrifto totius
ecclefiae monarcha.
168 In facris libris continentur omnia quae funt ad falutem necefTaria.
169 Sacra Scriptura eft unica Chriftianae fidei norma.
170 Nullus eft in ecclelia judex infallibilis controverfiarum.
171 Charaderes hominis peccati in pofteriore Paulina ad Theflaloni-
cenfes epiftola exprefli Pontifici Romano apprime conveniunt.
172 Pars hiftoricaNovi Teftamenti quae continet eventus divinam opern
non expofcentes jure fidem noftram vindicat.
173 Datur ftatus medius inter mortem et refurredionem.
174 Non datur ftatus medius inter mortem et refurredionem.
175 Nee felicitas beatorum perfeda nee miferia impiorum extrema erit
ante refurreclionem et generale judicium.
176 Jobi de vindice fuo videndo fiducia ad fpem vitae futurae referenda
eft.
177 Refurredio Chri(li probatur teftibus fide dignis.
178 Refurredio mortuorum patet ex parabola Divitis ac Lazari.
179 Anima a corpore foluta in ftatu feparato manet ad refurredionem.
180 Refurredio quae patefada et prom ilia eft in Evangelio eft refurredio
corporis.
j8i Sterna felicitas non patet nifi ex revelatione,
J82 Poenae
xxviii | PREFACE
182 Poena; imprwborum erunt aeternae.
1 S3 Beatos in ftatu gloriae fe mutuo agnituros efle, nee raticne nee facris
Scrpturis retragatur.
184 Ex Evangeliftaruin et Apoftolorum fcriptis minime patet qui in
hifioriolis fuis fervari dicuntur eos ideo vitam aecernam confe-
euturos.
185 Cbriftiis vera dasmonia ejecit.
ibb Orjculorum refponfa antiquitus reddita non a facerdotum praefiigiis
aut humano quolibet artiticio, fed a daemon um quos Deus Eth-
nicos illudere pafTus eit malign ft ate.
j 87 Diaconi mm ad civile tantum, fed ad facrum etiam munus initio
flint conftituti.
ona Chnitianorum non funt omnibus communia.
ec peccavit Chriftus, nee peccare potuit.
IqO Non nectflitate quadam impuifus, (ed confilio fuo obfecutus Judas,
Chriftum in pontificum mantis trad id it.
191 Parricularis piovidnuiae doctrina cum ratione et facris Scripturis.
confonat.
1^2 Prsecerjta de charitate inimicorum quae in facris libris traduntur,
naturae homin.um apte convenient.
IQ3 L cet iub novo fcedere Chrlftianis fanguine vefci.
Haulo fcripta eft. .
1 - . 0 Ifraelitae a Deo jufli funt aram extruere
Jurdanem tranfiiiTexit,
196 Judaei recte recufarunt ne Samaritani tern pi urn Dei fecum aedifi-
>li omnes intellexerunt Hnguas Sancri Spiritus afflatu.
: bene menta aifrciunt pq&tfiientes ec probps, non impcenitcn-
tes et reprobos.
• ;elii qw.ae ad mores fpectant tendunt ad humanam
felicitatem promovehdam.
Chriftus in mundum veait ut homines non folum doceret, kd redi-
niextt.
Thefe Queltions may be fufficient to give the Reader fome
notion of the Subjects which hive of Lite encased the atten-
lion of the Difputants in the Divinity Schools at Cambridge.
I will afford him an opportunity of contrafting our labours with
thofe of oui P , without taking upon me to determine
whether we fhall derive creditor difhonour from the comparifon.
If he ihouki think tb.ac we have in fome inftances a more en-
1 view of the Chriftran fyftem, and more liberal notions
concerning the manner in which difTentients from our particular
mode of faith and worihip ought to be treated tl'ian they had, I
will take the liberty to fay, that there is room for improvement
in both thefe points,
PREFACE. 7&ix
In 1634 were pubiilhed at Cambridge -Determine.:,
§httefiionum quarundam Tbeologicarum, in Acadsmia Canta-
brigienji fubtice difputatarum by Doctor Davenant, then
Biihop of Salisbury, and formerly Lady Margaret's ProfdTor
ofDivinity.
INDEX Q_ U JE S T I O N U M.
QuiEST.
I /CONCUPISCENT! A in- renatis eft peccatum.
\__j 2. Papiitarum preces pro defunctis funt inanes.
. 3 Vere credences certi effe poffunt de fua falute.
4 Nulla eft temporalis Paps poteftas fuper reges in ordinead bonum
fpirituale.
5 Infallibilis determinatio fidei non eft annexa cathedrae Papali.
6 Caeca Jefuitarum obedientia eft illicita..
7 Non licet Proteftanti falva confcientia miflze interefle.
8 Opera pcenalia non funt divinx juftitiie fatisfa&oria.
9 Non datur liberum arbitrium in non ren-iti<-, ad bonum fbiritua
10 Opera renatorum labe peccaci funt inquin .
11 Civiiis juriulictio jure concedk 'ia'lici?.
12 Renuente magiftratu\ non iicer. populo reforrnationem eccleilae
moliri.
13 MifTa pontificia non eft facrificiutn propitiatorium pro vivis c;t r,or-
tuis.
14 Antiqui Patres non meruerunt Chrifti ^m, nee al
ejus circui
15 Totapoteltas facerdotum eft ipiriti
16 Pronitas ad malum non
17 Jefuitici ppntificii non pc nt - cni (ubditi.
il! Cuitus reiigiofus qreat'urae eft idolola
19 Rex in regno fuo eft ti 1 ' ■ > Deo.
20 Ecciefia Anglicana jiigat ad ce
0.1 Ecciefia Romana eft apoft'atica.
22 Decretum non toll it libertatem.
23 S.ici amenta non conferunt gratiamcx opere operato.
24 In efi'.-iitia divina nee aliud nee accidens.
25 Praefcieh'tia divina non erat caufa lapfus humani.
26 Subje&um divinae praedeftii lapfus,
27 Papiftae tenentur interefle facris Proteftantium.
2% Papae jurifdictio non eft uriiverfalis.
29 Fides implicita non eft falutifera.
30 Dominium temporale non fundatur in gratia.
31 Omne peccatum eft iua natura mortiferum.
32 Coniilia quae vocantur Evangeiica, b.abcnt quandoque vim
cepti.
u :
xxx PREFACE.
33 RemifHi culpa remittitur poena.
34 Nemo poteft de congruo mereri primam gratiam divinam.
35 Ecclefia invifibilis non eft Idea Platonica.
36 Chrifti viclima fola vere expiatoria.
37 Fides juftificans eft fiducia in Chriftum mediatorem.
38 Fides juftificans non poteft a charitate disjungi.
39 Laici non funt arcendi a leclione Scripturarum.
40 Superbia fuit primum peccatum Angelorum.
41 Publica Religionis exercitia funt lingua vulgari peragenda.
42 Diverfitas graduum in miniftris Evangelicis, verbo Dei non re-
pugnat.
43 Coelibatus non eft neceffario facris ordinibus annexus.
44 Sancti non funt invocandi.
45 Ignorantia non excufat peccatum.
46 San&a ecclefia Catholica quam credimus, ex folis conftat elecYis.
47 Nee Petrus nee Pontifex Romanus conftitutus fuit a Chrifto ecclefiae
totius monarcha.
48 Ccnfura ecclefiaftica non tollit vincula ofEciorum.
49 Non datur omnibus auxilium fufficiens ad falutem.
50 Ecclefia Romana injufte calicem Laicis ademit.
Do&or Tuckney was elected Regius Profeflbr of Divinity in
the Univerfity of Cambridge in 1655 ; his PraleBiones Theo-
logic<£> necnon Detcrminationes Qu<eftionum variarum infignium in
Sc bolts Academicis Cantabrigienfibus habit ce were publilhed
at Amfterdam in 1679.
Q.U £) S T I O N E S DETERMINATE
I -m y|-AGISTRATUM gerere non repugnat Qhrifti inftitutis.
XVX 2 Humana Ciirifti natura non eft ex unione hypoftatica Di-
vinarum proprietatum particeps.
3 Religio non eft vi et armis propaganda.
4 Intallibilitas nulli competit creature.
5 Electio eft prorfus gratuita.
fe Omne peccatum eft fua natura mortale.
7 Ad minifterium ecclefize l'ufcipiendum ordinarie requiritur legitima
vocatio.
8 Chriftiano licet ex intuitu mercedis operari.
9 Meritum Papifticum ex S. Scriptura non probatur.
IO Purgatorium Papifticum eft fictitium.
j I Poen*e propter peccatum seternae non funt iniqua:.
12 VvxpizcuDivxix nee ratione f'undatur nee Scriptura.
13 Peccata praeteritaet futura non fimul remittuntur.
14 Fraudes quae vocantur pise funt illicitae.
15 Nullus aflenfus conftituit rationem ridei juftificantis.
16 A
PREFACE. xxxi
16 Ad redemptionis noftras Kvt^v tarn acYiva quam paffiva Chrifti fpedat
obedicntia.
17 Deus reputat pro juftis r.on nifi revera juftos.
18 Re<£r.itudo primi parentis nonfuit donum fupematurale.
19 Beati in ftatu glorise fe mutuo funt agnituri.
20 AvTotpovtot non eft iicita.
21 Vere fideles certi efle pofTunt de falute.
22 Credentes tenentur ad obedientiam legis.
23 Dominium temporale non fundatur in gratia.
24 Cognitio fana necefTario credendorum eft pars religionis eilentialis-
25 Regnum Chrifti perfonale in terris non eft expec-tandum.
26 Miniftris conjugium non eft inteidicendurm
27 Intel-'e&us vi foia nativi luminis non percipit falutariter do&rinaro
Evangelii.
28 Fides juftificans a bonis operibus fejungi nequit.
29 Praecepta Evangelica de vita inftituenda funt reds rationi confen-
tanea.
30 Renati in hac vita non poflunt perfe&e legem Dei adimplere.
31 Externus judex infallibilis in controverfiis iidei, nee datur, nee re-
quiritur in ecclefia.
32 Bona opera funt neceftaria ad falutem.
33 Concupifeentia in renatis eft peccatum.
34 Quintum Danielis imperium non reftat adhuc expeiEtandum.
35 Interna Dei illuminatio non tollit ufum neceflarium minified*
Evangelici.
36 Officia ecclefiaftica funt lingua vulgo nota celebranda.
37 Verbum Dei externum eft ordinarium medium converfionis ad fa-
lutem.
38 Indulgentise pontificise non nituntur verbo divino.
39 Chriftus eft Patri 'apoatnof.
40 Status in quo homo nee juftus fit nee injuftus non datur.
41 Jacobi fententia de juftiricatione non eft adveriaria Puulinae.
42 Ufura legiti ma non eft iliieita.
43 Sacrifkia fub tc ante Mofaicam ceconomiam typi fuerunt Jefu Cr
44 Divortium matrimoniale non folvit vinculum.
45 Culpa remifla non retinetur poena.
40 Non licet gladio animadvertere in haereticos.
47 PromuJgatio eft de efientia legis di\ inae.
48 Principes nulli terreno foro funt o'bnoxii.
49 Externa fidei profeflio datjus ad i'acramenta.
50 Lectio S. Scripture non eft interdicenda Laicis.
51 Characleres Antichrifti in Scrrptura exprefli przecipue conveniunt
pontifici Romano.
52 Saiisfactio Cnriiti propeccatis eft congrua juftitirs et gratis divins,
I once intended to have digefted the whole of Theology into
a connected feries of propofitions, with references to fuch Au-
thors, ancient and modern, as had treated the affirmative and
negative fide of each, with the greateft clearnefs and precifion.
\x\'\ E F A C E.
The mere ehtinciation of a propofition conveys a degree of ufe-
is queftions which fuggeft them-
important fubject in Divinity might be ftate'd
with • cifion, and made fo to depend on each other, that
ehend in a fhort compafs the marrow of many
. I the fame time give fuch a regu-
iew of the whole iubje<5t, as conftitutes the
i c Treatifes. I had made fome little
; ■-. hen I was feized with a diforder, three
\. unequal to the exertions which
its co perfon fhould be induced
to ui will find his endeavours
much i figiam Breviores,
of o"c\ :: aiios et centra Pcn-
arum) quce inter Soci-
nianoi lata^Jimul ac Pontijici<e Theologos
B hop J . Y Remains 3 by a imall
. - deque nude propojita, de Uni-
verja b ;, u ■ Bremae i( the Summa Tbfo?
logica -inns ■. (or notwithftanding the ridicule which
illy, in thefe days, attend? riie mere mention of the Angelic
Doctor, I will veni - I two I e are,
mix^dindeea nd] Tverfe interpre-
ts of great
nent ftated nth ntj by 1
Lectures; by the T> \ and-of I j
by die Sy um;
by the K t *us. Bud-
t Cat and by our Englifh Divines,
that they have illuftrated par-
ticular dodrim h more ftrength of argument,
and perfpicuity of la than are to be met with in the wri-
tings of the Div ion.
fH£
1
THE
PREFACE.
THE Reader is here preferred with the plan which Dr. Taylor
followed, in leading his pupils to a juft and rational acquain-
tance with the principles of Religion, founded upon an accurate know-
ledge of the Scriptures.
The importance of this fervice, and his accountablenefs in a great
meafure for the event, were confiderations of the laft moment, and
caufed him to compofe, and deliver his academical inftructions with the
utmoft circumfpection. To his own judgment, after the ftrictefr revifal,
the principles here advanced, appeared juft and fcriptural j but he did
not therefore prefume they were abfolutely free from error ; much lefs
did he think himfelf authorized, as a public tutor, to impofe his fenti-
ments on young minds with an overbearing hand. That he might do
juftice to his pupils, and himfelf, he always prefaced his lectures with the
following folemn Charge, which does honor to the Author, and affords
a noble precedent to feminaries of learning.
I. " I do folemnly charge you, in the name of the God of Truth,
and of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who is the Way, the Truth, and
the Life, and before whofe judgment- feat you muft in no long
time appear, that in all your ftudies and inquiries of a religious
nature, prefent or future, you do conftantly, carefully, impar-
tially, and confcientioufiy attend to evidence, as it lies in the
holy Scriptures, or in the nature of things, and the dictates of
reafon; cautioufly guarding againft the fallies of imagination,
and the fallacy of ill-grounded conjecture."
II. — " That you admit, embrace, or aflent to no principle, or
fentiment, by me taught or advanced, but only fo far as it fhall
appear to you to be fupported and juftified by proper evidence
from Revelation, or the reafon of things."
HI. — " That, if at any time hereafter, any principle or fentiment,
by me taught or advanced, or by you admitted and embraced,
ihall, upon impartial and faithful examination, appear to you
to be dubious or falfe, you either fufpect, or totally reject: fuch
principle or fentiment." \
Vol. I. A IV.— « That
ii THE PREFACE.
IV. — " That you keep your mind always open to evidence.—
That you labour to banifh from your bread all prejudice, pre-
pofleflion, and party-zeal.— That you ftudy to live in peace
and love with all your fellow-chriitians, and that you fteadily
aflert for yourfelf, and freely allow to others, the unalienable
rights of judgment and confcience."
Is it poflible to adjuit the terms between a tutor and his pupils more
equitably? But it muft here beobferved, that Dr. Taylor ever meant,
the liberty he claimed for himfclf, and allowed toothers, fhould be di-
rected by a ferious frame of mind, and a real defire to promote practical
religion. The enlarged view he had of divine things penetrated his own
heart, and had a manifefr influence over his practice. He laboured to
exf '..:in and vindicate the doilrines of Revelation for this reafon, that
he might moft effectually ferve the caufe of vital Religion.
It were to be wifhed, that thole who are ftudents for the miniftry, who
choofe to confult his writings, may imbibe the fame fpirit of genuine
piety. This will be a never-failing fource of weight and credit : and
without it, other qualifications will be infufficient for religious improve-
ment.
The Doctor's whole life being devoted to an impartial ftudy of the
Scriptures, not by way of fpeculation and amufement, but for the moft
valuable purpofes to himfelf and others, it is no wonder to find him fo
earneftly recommending them to the ferious attention of Chriftians.
This is the important fubject of thofe chapters, which immediately
follow the Scheme of Scripture Divinity.
.The Editor fubmits the whole (as the Author would have done) to
the candor of every intelligent Reader ; defiling that what is here
advanced, may be regarded no further than fhall appear conformable to
truth and Scripture, in fubfeiviency to the beft intereft of Mankind*
A SCHEME
\
SCHEME
O F
SCRIPTURE-DIVINITY, &C*
CHAP. f.
Of Christian Theology.
CHRISTIAN Theology* or Divinity, is the fcience which,
from Revelation, teacheth the knowledge of God, namely, his
nature and perfections, his relations to us, his ways and difpenfations,
his will with refpect to our actions, and his purpofes with refpe£r. to our
being ; in order to form in our minds right principles, for our direction
and comfort, and in our converfation right practice for fecuring his
favour and blefling*
In natural religion we take our proofs from the natures of things as
perceived, confidered, and compared by the human mind ; but now we
advance upon the authority and fenfe of writings and books ; I mean,
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Teftaments, acknowledged
by the whole Chriftian world as a true revelation from God, and as the
ftandard of faith and doctrine.
That God would reveal to us, by fuch ways as he in his wifdom
judgeth moft proper, fuch things as are needful for us to know and to
do, for the improvement and happinefs of our nature, is perfectly
agreeable to his wifdom and goodnefs, who is our Father, and delighteth
in our well-being; and is alfo perfectly fuitable to our circumftances,
as mankind are ignorant and w^ak, and very liable to error and decep-
tion. It is confonant to the nature of things, that a father fhould
inftrucl: his child, and that perfons of knowledge and learning fhould
teach the ignorant. How much more that God, whofe understanding;
is infinite, and without whom we can know nothing at all, fhould
teach and inftrucl: us all !
And that his inftru&ions fhould be configned to writing, is alfo very
fit and proper; as this, in facl, is the fureft method of preferving them
A X in
4 Of Chriftian Theology, Ch. I.
in the world. Tradition from one generation to another is no fafe con-
veyance. The experiment hath been fufficiently tried in the ages before
the flood ; wherein, though tradition was then greatly favoured by the
longevity of mankind, yet we find, that both the Religion of Nature
and traditionary Revelation were both fo far loft, that in the fpace of
1656 years the earth was filled with violence -for all fiejh had corrupted
his way upon earth. Gen. vi. 1 1, 12. And both would have been entirely
loft, had not God in an extraordinary manner interpofed. Likewife
after the flood, notwithftanding any tradition from Noah, idolatry foon
overfpread the nations, and rendered it expedient for God to devife a
newconftitution, to prevent a fecond univerfal corruption and apoftacy.
And fo falfe and faithlefs is Tradition, that for many ages in the Jewifh,
nation, and for many ages under the Gofpel, Tradition was, and ftill is,
fo far oppofed to Revelation, as to obfeure and difparage it, and make
the commandment of God therein of no effect. Infomuch, that had
not a written Revelation by Divine Providence been introduced into
the world, and preferved in it, true Religion would have been banifhed
©ut of it.
The benefit of Revelation is very great : but then it muft be faithfully
tifed ; otherwife it will be turned againft itfelf, and made the patron of
Falfehood and Delufion. Which, in fa£t, hath been the cafe. Men,
either weak or wicked, have perverted the Scriptures, and reduced them
to a fubferviency to either their lufts, or preconceived opinions. The
latter was remarkably the cafe in the hrft ages of Chriftianky. When
any of the Philofophers were converted to the Chriftian Profeffion, they
generally brought along with them the fchemes and notions of the par-
ticular feds to which they were attached; thofe influenced their minds
in the ftudy of the Scriptures, and inclined them to wreft the Scriptures
into a confiftency with their preconceived opinions. Hence it is, that
many notions inconfiftent with the word of God, and with each other,
have bten handed down to us from the earlieft times under the facred
character of found Chriftian Doctrine. And in our own times, we
find men pleading the authority of Scripture for a variety of oppofite
and contradictory fentiments, which therefore cannot all of them be
founded upon Scripture.
For the Holy Scriptures, being a Revelation from God, the moft per-
fect and invariable ftandard of Truth, though written by different per-
fbns, living in remote ages, during the fpace of about 1500 years, from
JUofes to John, who wrote the Revelation; yet, being a Revelation from
God, muft be perfectly confident in all their parts and principles, views
and fentiments, expreft in uniformity of language, ^or if the language
were multiform and various, the fenfe would neccflarily be obfeure, and
the understanding confounded, and (o the ends of Revelation would be
defeated. And if, notwithftanding the great changes in cuftoms, difpo-
fitions, interefts, and religious fentiments, which muft, and actually did,
happen in fo long a tract of time, we do find, that one confiftent fcheme,
in one confident uniform language, is carried on in all the writings,
which compofe the Scriptures, we may ftrongly conclude, that they are
a Revelation from God ; not the produce of human wifdom, which could
never in ages fo remote, and for the greateft part fo illiterate^ have com-
bined
Ch. I. Of Chriftian Theology. 5
bined to carry on a regular, uniform fcheme of religious principles and
fentiments, in the fame language or modes of expreffion j but the infpi-
ration or dictates of one Spirit, the Spirit of God. Hence it fol-
lows,
I. That in explaining the Scriptures, confiftency of fenfe and prin-
ciples ought to be fupported in all the feveral parts thereof; and that,
if any part be fo interpreted as to clafh with any other, we may be fure
fuch interpretation cannot be juftified. Nor can it otherwife be rectified,
than by faithfully comparing Scripture with Scripture, and bringing
what may feem to be obfcure into a confiftency with what is plain and
evident.
II. The fenfe of Scripture can no otherwife be underftood, than by
underftanding the force and import of Scriptural language. And the
force and import of Scriptural language can be fettled in no method more
authentic, than by collating the feveral paflages in which any phrafe or
expreffion occurs. Thus, in every view, Scripture is the belt interpreter
of Scripture.
III. Figurative expreflions fhould be carefully diftinguifhed from thofe
that are literal ; and vice verfa. The oriental, and confequently the
Scriptural tropes and figures of fpeech, are very bold, and different from
the European.
IV. Single fentences are not to be detached from the places where
theyftand, but to be taken in connexion with the whole difcourfe. The
occafion, coherence, and connexion of the writing, the argument that
is carrying on, the fcope and intent of the paragraph, are to be carefully
attended to.
V. We fhould always interpret Scripture in a fenfe confident witn
the laws of natural religion ; or with the known perfections of God,
and the notions of right and wrong, good and evil, which are difcover-
able in the works of creation, and in the prefent conftitution of things.
The language of Nature is moft certainly the language of God, the fole
author of Nature. And however the Divine Wifdom may diverfify the
circumftances of fupernatural Revelation, yet the law of Nature, as it
is founded in the unchangeable natures of things, mull be the balls and
ground-work of every conftitution of religion, which God had erected.
Whence it follows, that the ftudyand knowledge of natural Religion is
a neceflary introduction to the ftudy and right underftanding of Revela-
tion. And we may further conclude that fupernatural Revelation, in
all its parts and principles, as it certainly is, fo it always fhould be, in-
terpreted and underftood in perfect harmony with natural Religion, or
the dictates of Reafon.
But miftake me not ; I do not mean, that the law or religion of Na-
ture is commenfurate to Revelation ; or, that nothing is to be admitted
in Revelation, but what is difcoverable by the light of Nature, or by
human Reafon. So far from that, that the whole of Revelation, pro-
perly fo called, could never have been difcovered by human Reafon.
And therefore in matters of pure Revelation, it is a very falfe and falla-
cious way to begin firft with what our Reafon may dictate and difcover;
becaufe our Reafon, unaffifted by Revelation, in fuch cafes, can difcover
A 3 nothing
6 Of Chrijlian Theology. Ch. I.
nothing at all. For inftance, the confequences of Adams tranfgreflion
upon his pofl-crity j the covenant made with Abraham-, the nature and
million of the Son of God ; the grant of bleflings, and of eternal life by
him. Concerning thofe things, we could h^ve known nothing at all,
had not God revealed them to us. And in fuch matters of pure Revela-
tion, tl.e firft thing we have to do, is to inquire, not what human Rea-
fon can difcoyer, but what God has d.fcovered, and declared in Scrip-
ture. But at the fame time it is true, that God hath difcovcred nothing
in Scripture inconfiflent with what he has difcovcred in the nature of
things expofed to the view of all mankind. And therefore, if we un.
dcrftand any thing in revealed religion, in a fenfe contradictory to natu-
ral religion, or to the known perfections of God, and the common no-
tions of good and evil, which he hath written upon all our hearts, we
may be iure we are in an error, and miftake the fenfe of Revelation.
I. He who would effectually ftudy the word of God, ought, above all
things to be deeply fenfible of the infinite value of true knowledge and
wifdom ; and how abfolutely neceffary it is to his eternal happinefs, to
cultivate and improve his intellectual powers, in the ufe of all thofe
means which God hath put into his hands. The Scriptures are given
us, not for amufement, or mere fpeculation, in perufing the curious
remains of antiquity, the language, manners, and Theology of fome
celebrated ancients; but they are all, from beginning to end, pointed
directly at our hearts and lives, to make us wife unto falvation. There
we find every rule of the mod confummate wifdom, and every principle
of truth and comfort j and the whole is defigned to refine our nature
into its proper excellence, to guide us into the paths of purity, peace,
and righteoufnefs ; to make us happy in ourfelves, and a blefling to all
about us j and finally to qualify us for the full enjoyment of God for
ever.
But if we are cold and indifferent to any attainments in true wifdom ;
if we choofe to dream, or jeft and trifle away the important feafon of
life, defpifing the glorious advantages we enjoy, while we eagerly pur-
fue the low and tranfitory things of this world, in neg!e<5l of ourfelves,
of God, and immortality, of all that is truly great and good and ex-
cellent, we fhall receive little or no advantage from any explications of
the Holy Scriptures. We fhall not value or rtlifh them, we can have
no ground to expe£t the divine blefling to aflift our ftudies, but have
reafon to fear we fhall be left to ourfelves, to wander from God, from
truth, and life, in deplorable ignorance and folly. Attend, therefore,
to the voice of Divine Wifdom, Prov. ii. I, &c. My fort, if thou wilt
receive my words, and hide my commandments within thee, [lay them upas a
treafure |DJ»'D in thy heart] fo that thou incline thine ear unto wifdom, and
apply thine heart unto under/landing; yea, if thou crie/f after knowledge^
and lift eft up thy voice for underjlanding [as we do for thofe things, which
we moft of all defire, and moft of all ftand in need of]: If thou feekejl
her as ftlver, and ftarchejl for her as for hid treafures [as covetous men
feek money, and ranfack the whole world for the treafures, in which
they delight : If thus you value, and ftudy to advance the improvement
of your minds in knowledge and wifdom]: Then Jhalt thou under/land the
feat-
Ch. I. Of ChriJlian Theology. 7
fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God [which of all underftand-
ing is infinitely the moft excellent].
II. But thisYenfe of the value of Divine Knowledge, and this defire to
obtain it, muft be underftood in a connexion with a fmcere endeavour
to live agreeably to it. For fhould a perfon, under the greateft advan-
tages of learning, and with the utmoft afliduity ftudy the Scriptures, he
will be, after all, but a poor proficient in Divine Knowledge, if he da
not bring it home to his heart, and reduce it to practice. It is not fpe-
culation, but practice and experience, which renders a man truly fkiiful
in any bufinefs. So in Religion, no man can be truly wife and know-
ing, but he who liveth wifeiy and virtuoufly. If ye continue in my word,
(faith our Lord, Joh. viii. 31.) then Jhall ye know the truth, and the truth
Jhall make you free [from the darknefs of ignorance and error, and the
fervitude of abfurd lufts and paffionsj. Joh. vii. 27. If any man will do
his, God's, will, he Jhall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. [He
fhall fee it in its true light, and be convinced that it is perfectly divine.]
For (P/al. xxv. 14.) the fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and
be will Jhew them his covenant. But (Dan. xii. 10.) the wicked Jhall do
wickedly, and none of the wicked Jhall underjland, but the wife [the pious
and virtuous] Jhall under/land.
This is to make you fenfible, that a fincere defire of true knowledge
is a neceffary difpofition in entering upon the ftudy of the Scriptures;
and the obedience to God's commands, in the courfe of a pious life, is
neceffary to enlarge and eftablifh the judgment in the knowledge of
divine truths.
III. To the effectual ftudy of Scripture, it is neceffary, that our minds
and hearts be unbiaffed, unprejudiced, open to the truth, and always
quite free to difcern and receive it. If our fpirits are under the power
of prepoffeflion and prejudice, we cannot be well difpofed for fearching
the Scriptures. For inftance, if a perfon, in matters of religion and
confeience, is ambitious to gain reputation in the world, or folicitous
only to pleafe and recommend himfelf to a party, how fhould he ftudy
the word of God with the fincere and fingle view of difcovering and
embracing the truth, when he is pre-engaged, and all his care is to find
what will pleafe his fellow-creatures, and fuit his own mean and felfifh
purpofes ? Joh. v. 44. Hoiu can ye believe, who receive honour one of ano"
ther, whofe ruling principle is the defire of temporal honour, and the
favour of men, and feek not the honour which comes from God only, the honour
of a good confeience, and of upright conduct? Or, if we refign our
understandings and confeiences to the authority of human decifions and
decrees ; or imbibe the bigotry of a party, which determines a perfon
to retain pertinacioufly a fet of religious notions, without confidering,
or examining, how far they are agreeable to the word of God, our
understandings and judgments are locked up, and no longer at liberty
to difcover the truth.
It is owing to this malignant caufe, that great numbers of learned
men, who call themfelves Chriftians, will not allow themfelves to make
inquiry, whether the worfhip of faints, images, relicks, bread, and
innumerable other abfurd doctrines, and fuperffitious practices, are agree-
able to the truth and purity of the Chriftian Religion. The error and
A 4 iniquity
J> Of the Divine Difpenfations. Ch. IL
iniquity of this conduct in Papifts we fee and deteft. But the fame mo-
ral caufe will in all cafes produce the fame effects. If we act upon the
fame vicious principles ; if we indulge the like prejudices, and in the
fame manner wilfully fhut our eyes, we fhall be more faulty than Papifts,
becaufe it is contrary to our profeflion, as Proteftants ; and fhall be
equally incapable of feeing the truth and glory of our holy Religion. In
itudying the Scriptures we fhould always keep our minds open to evi-
dence, and further difcoveries of truth ; which is the only way to be
more and more folidly eftablifhed in our religious principles; for in no
other way can we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus
CbriJI, Moreover, this is the only poflible mean of reducing the
Chrifrian world to unity both of hearts and fentiments.
IV. Prayer to God, the Father of Lights, the Fountain of all Illu-
mination, is neceflary to the fuccefsful fludy of the Scriptures. Prov.
ii. 6. The Lcrdz\ov\Q gives wifdom ; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
undemanding. Nor hath he appointed any means, how excellent foever
in themftlves, which exempt us from a dependence upon his blefling.
All our fprings are in him; and his gracious influences render our en-
deavours, of any kind, fuccefsful. And therefore, when we addrefs
©urfelves to the ftudy of the holy Scriptures, we mould make our Am-
plication to God, that he would open our eyes, that we may behold won-
derous things out of his law. Or, in the Apoftle's words, (Ephef. i. 17,
l8.) that theGod of our Lord Jefus Chrifl, the Father of Glory, would give
unto us the fpirit of wifdom, and revelation, in the knowledge of him ; that
the eyes of our under/landing being enlightened, we may have juft apprehen-
fions of the riches of his wifdom and grace, and that our hearts may be
duly imprefled with a deep and lafting fenfe of them.
CHAP. II.
Of the Divine Difpenfations , in Scripture called the Ways and Work*
of GOD.
TH E Ways of God CDM^N >dtt frequently fignify the Rules of
Life, which he hath given us to obferve. Pfal. cxix. 3. They
dfo do no iniquity ; they walk in his ways, i. e. in the law of the Lord,
ver. 1. And the Works ED'it'yo of God may fignify the mere ope-
ration and productions of his power. But both thefe words have a
more reftricted and emphatical fignification. yn a Way, fignifieth
alfo a courfe of action, a cuftom, conftitution or institution, which any
perfon, or number of perfons form to themfelves. Prov. viii. 22. The
Lord poffefjed me, Wifdom, in the beginning of his Way, before his Works of
old. Prov, xii. 26. The way of the wicked, their courfe of action, feduceth
them. Hof. x. 13. Becaufe thou d'nljl truft in thy way, the fchemes and
methods,
Ch. II. Of the Divine Difpenfations. 9
methods, political or religious, of thy own devifing, and in the multitude
of thy mighty men, Amos viii. 14. The manner, the way, /*. e. the
religious conftitution, of Beerjheba liverh, fubfifts, flourifheth, not-
withftandingthe oppofition made to it. rtUty fignifies to conftitute, or-
dain, appoint, difpofe. Num. xxviii. 6. 2 Chrotu ii. ir. Pfal. civ. 19.
peel. iii. 11.
Hence Ways and Works fignify the appointments, conftitutions, or
Difpenfations of God. By which are meant, " The fchemes or me-
M thods devifed or contrived by the wifdom and goodnefs of God, to
<c difcover, or (hew himfelf, his nature and will, his beneficence, holi-
**■ nefs and juftice, to the minds of his rational creatures, for their in-
*' ftru&ion, difcipline and reformation, in order to promote their hap-
" pinef?." Thefe are the great ends of the Divine Difpenfations ; and
thefe the principal points to be attended to, in the explications of
them.
The great God, for ever to be adored, hath actually given exiftencs
to a world of moral agents, fuch as we are. He therefore is our Fa-
ther, and we are his offspring, whom he hath created in love, that in
a right and virtuous ufe of our rational powers, we may be qualified for
honour and enjoyment in the heavenly world. This feems to be the
higher! defign the Divine Goodnefs can form, and the higher! excellency
to which our nature can attain. And this may be confidered as the
bafis of all the Divine Difpenfations from the beginning of the world.
For without pious and virtuous difpofitions we cannot be qualified for
honour and enjoyment. But pious and virtuous difpofitions cannct be
forced upon us, by any external power whatever ; they mud, in feme
degree, be the effect of our own attention and choice. It is, therefore,
becoming the Father of our Spirits, and fuitable to beings of our ca-
pacities and circumftances, that proper means be provided for our in-
duction and difcipline. For inftance, as God is not the object of any
of our fenfes, and can be ken only by our underftandings, it is proper
that he fhould fet before us, in the frame and furniture of the world, fuch
vifible and various difplays of his Being, Power, Wifdom, Juftice, and
kind Regards, as may engage our attention, difcover his eternal God-
head, and lead us to the acknowledgment, adoration, love, and dutiful
obedience of our Creator, Father, and Benefactor. Thefe are the
works, the difpenfations, or conftitutions of Nature ; whereby our Fa-
ther, as in a glafs held before our eyes and thoughts, has fhewn him-
felf to us for our inftruction in piety and virtue.
But befides the conftitution of univerfal Nature, there are a variety of
difpenfations, which are more immediately relative to mankind. As the
being born of parents, to fupply the feveral generations of the world,
whence refult fundry relations and duties ; the being fuftained by food,
covered and fheltered by clothes and habitations, healed by phyficians,
taught by the learned and fkilful; the infirmities, appetites, and paflions
of our conftitution; the forming focieties for mutual help and commerce;
the inftitution of government, or the fubordination of fome to the au-
thority of others, for preferving good order, for the protection of vir-
tue, and the reftraint and punifhment of vice. Add to thefe, wars, pefti-
lence,
jro Of the Divine Difpenfations. Ch. II.
lence, famine, earthquakes, and fuch like events ; all thefe may be
reckoned among the Divine Appointments, or Difpenfations ; fome for
the exercife of our rational powers in right action ; fome for difcipline,
correction, and reformation ; but none merely for deftruction, except
where reformation cannot be effected.
But thole Ways, or Difpenfations, which in Scripture areconfidered
as the great hinges of Divine Providence, on which his dealings with
mankind have turned ; or, as the principal events, by which the great
purpofes and councils of God's will have been executed, are chiefly to
be attended unto. Becaufe right conceptions of thefe, under their feve-
ral views, circumftances, and connexions, will greatly contribute to the
explaining oi Scripture-Theology, and alfo mark out the proper order
and method, in which it may be ftudied. Let us therefore here, at flrft
getting out, take a general furvey of them.
I. The Creation of the World, as above.
II. The Formation of Man after the Image of God.
III. Man, being created capable of enjoying the honours and felicity
of heaven, was to be difciplined and proved, in order to his being con-
firmed in the habits of virtue and holinefs; without which, neither man,
nor any other rational being, can be fit to fee, or enjoy,' the Lord.
Accordingly, the firft moft remarkable of God's works, in the newly-
created world, was to put the Man, whom he had formed, upon a trial
Suitable to his circumftances.
IV. Under which trial, man, yielding to temptation, finned, and
fo became fubjecled to the threatening of eternal death.
V. Which heavy doom, God, not willing to deftroy his creature, was
pleafed in mercy, not only to mitigate, but alfo, man having altered his
moral ftate. thought fit to introduce a new difpenfation of grace, in
the hands of a Mediator ; at the fame time, fubje&ing the human race
to a laborious life, to difeafes, and to death temporal ; and this, in much
goodnefs, to fubdue the flefhly Principle, to give a tafte of the bitter
fruits of fin, to prevent the opportunities and occafions of it; and, by
increafing the vanity of the creature, to turn his regards more fteadily
to the all-fufficient Creator.
VI. But men multiplying in the earth, abufed the grace of God, and
in about 1656 years time became fo wicked, that all flcjh had corrupted
his wayy and the earth was filled with violence. Then, to purge the world
from iniquity, and to recover it to a ftate of righteoufnefs, God created
a new thing in the earth, and, by a deluge of water, deftroyed that wicked
generation, preferving the only Family that remained uncorrupt in the
old world, in order to propagate piety and virtue in the new. At the
fame time, and for the fame good purpofes, he reduced human life into
much narrower bounds.
VII. Not long after the deluge, to prevent a fecond general corrup-
tion, God introduced another difpenfation, by confounding the language
of mankind; which divided the world into leveral diftinct focieties,
and, confequently, kept them under a ftriclcr government, and better
preferved their liberties, than if the world had been one great Empire.
VIII. Thus the outrage of violence and rapine was, in a good mea-
fure, cured. But now mankind fall into a different iniquity, namely,
thai
Ch. II. Of the Divine Difpenfatiom. If
that of idolatry ; whereby, within 400 years after the flood, the worfhip
and knowledge of the one fupreme God was in danger of being utterly
loft. To prevent this, the Divine Wifdom erected a new difpenlation by
calling Abraham from among his idolatrous kindred, and conftituting
his family theftorehoufe and ftandard of divine knowledge. To them he
fpake and revealed himfelf at fundry times, and in divers manners, and
feparated them from the reft of the world, by peculiar laws and reli-
gious ceremonies, to fecure them from the idolatrous practices of their
neighbours. Thus they became God's peculiar people, diftinguifhed
above all other nations, but with a view to the future great benefit of
all nations. And to this day, bleiled be God, we experience the
happy effects of this noble fchcme, and owe to it both our Bible, and
the very being of the Gofpel church.
IX. The family of Abraham, by the divine conduct, was led into
Egypt. And when they had been there, under grievous oppreflion, 215
years, and were grown numerous enough to be a nation, God fet him-
felf at the head of them, as their King. And, in a country much
efteemed for learning and arts, whither men of genius and curiofity
reforted from all other parts, upon this ftage, fo proper, becaufe fo pub-
lic, God, as the king of Ifrael, combated the king of Egypt, and his
fictitious gods, and dilplayed his infinitely fuperior power both to de-
stroy and to fave, by many plagues inflicted upon the land of Egypt*
and by bringing out the Israelites in oppofition to all the forces of the
king, and all the obftaclesof nature, and fettling them, after they had
been fufficiently difciplined in the wildernefs, in the land of Canaan.
Here God fet up his peculiar kingdom amongft them ; and they alone of
all the nations of the earth were the fubjects of it, and happy in its
fmgular privileges and bleflings; but, at the fame time, were exercifed
with various providential difpenfations. The general ruie of which,
was this : while they adhered to the worfhip of the true God, they
were always profperous j when they declined to idolatry, they were
cither oppreiTed at home, or carried captive into other countries.
X. The long captivity in Babylon was not only a punifhmentto the
Jew-, but alfo a mean of publishing the knowledge of the true God
over all the Babylonijh empire, as appears very evidently in the Book of
Daniel. And the divifion of the Grecian empire, which put an end to
the Perfian, after the death of Alexander, caufed a new difperfion of the
Jews, efpecially into Afia minor, Syria, Egypt, Cyrene, and Lybia, where
their fynagogues were very common. And laftly, when they were
fu ejected to the Roman power, their God and religion became more
J:nown over all the Roman empire. Thus the way for the kingdom
of the Mejftah was gradually prepared. For though the knowledge
of God, received from the Jews, made no public reformation of Pa-
gan idolatry, yet it greatly difpofed men to receive the Gofpel when it
Should be preached unto them. Some became Jews, many renounced
idolatry, and worfhipped no other but the living and true God, who,
in the Acts of the Apoftles, are called, devout Profelytes, Greeks, thole
that feared God. J
XI. Thus we are brought to the coming ofChrifl, who came in the fid-
nefs of Time; for he came as foon as God, by the various methods of his
pro-
12 Of the Divine Difpenfations. Ch. II.
providence, had prepared the world to receive him. When God had
mode ready a people prepared for him, then Chrift came, and fully ex-
plained the nature, laws, extent, and glory of the kingdom of God, and
fulfilled the great and moft excellent defigns of divine wifdom, by giving
himfelf a facrifice and propitiation for the fin of the world.
XII. Then the great myftery of God, the calling of other nations,
befides theater, into his kingdom and church, was opened, and made
manifeft by the preaching of the Gofpel. For which purpofe, he fent
out his apoftles, furnifhed with proper powers and credentials, efpe-
cially the gift of tongues, whereby they were enabled to communicate
the wonderful things of God to people of different countries. And by
this means, the glad tidings of falvation, and the glorious light and
privileges of the Gofpel, have reached even to us in Great-Britain^
who dwell in the uttermoft parts of the earth.
XIII. But as Chrijl came to reftore, to explain, and by the moft
glorious difcoveries, and the richeft promifes, to enforce the law of na-
ture, the true religion of all nations; and confequently, as his defign
was to erect an univerfal religion, which fhould recommend itfelf to
all people, under their fevcral political diftindtions, and which, there-
fore, was to interfere with no political eftablifhments, but fhould leave
them, in every country, juft as it found them, teaching the nations
only to obfervethe eternal* rules of righteoufnefs in the hope of eternal
life ; I fay, upon this grand, noble, and extenfive plan, the Jewijb
polity would be funk to a level with all other national governments ;
and the few, on account of any prior national advantages, would have
no more claim to the bleflings and privileges of the kingdom of God,
than any of the Gentiles, or nations, who, in any of the moft barbarous
and defpifed parts of the earth, fhould receive the faith of the Gofpel.
For in the Chriftian religion there is neither Greek nor few, circumcifion
nor uncircumcifion, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free ; but Chrif, i . e.
the faith and obedience, or true religion, which Chrift taught, is ally
and in all, Col. iii. II. Thus the few is fallen from his fuperior
claims and privileges j and he falls by that very method of divine wif-
dom and grace, which brought falvation to all other nations. Thus the
diminijhing of the fews is the riches of the world, and the cafling atvay of
them is the reconciling of the world, (Rom. xi. 12, 15.) or the opening a
door for the whole world to come into the peculiar kingdom of God.
This is the idea we ought to have of the rejection of the Jews. The
grace of God wa<, and ftill is, as free to them as toother people, upon
their embracing the Gofpel; but their political conftitution from hence-
forth gave them no diftindtion, or privileges in the kingdom of God,
above the reft cf mankind. And in no long time after the publication
of the Gofpel, their polity and civil conftitution, which otherwife
would have remained in full force, and have obliged them to obey its
laws, as much as the conftitutions of the other kingdoms of the world
obliged their feveral fubjedts, was quite overthrown, by the deftrudtion
of the temple, and the expulfion of the Jews out of the land of Canaan,
Which they have not been able to recover, but remain difperfed over
the face of the whole earth to this day. Thus the Gofpel difpenfation
was eredted, and fpread and prevailed every where.
XIV. The
Ch. II. Of the Divine Difpenfations. \ 3
XIV. The next of God's works was the permitting; and managing a
grand apoftacy and corruption of religion in the chriftian church, fore-
told by the Apoftles, and at large in the book of the Revelation. After
the apoftles were removed out of the world, it pleafed God to leave the
profeflbrs of the Gofpel, in matters of religion, to their own ignorance,
paflions and prepofleffions. Thus the chriftian faith, by degree?, was
depraved, till the Man of Sin arofe, a tyrannical, ufurped power, do-
mineering over, and impofing upon confcience, forbidding the ufe of
underftanding, and intoxicating the inhabiters of the earth with falfe
and delufive learning, worldly pomp and fplendor, religious forcery,
and cruel perfecution of the truth. This, as it was the propereft mean.
of producing the moft eminent and nobleff. characters, was to be a
long and fevere trial of the faith and patience of the faints. In the
times of this fad difpenfation, it is certain, we are now living; but,
we hope, towards the latter end of it. Through the whole courfe of
it God hath varioufly appeared, both in wrath upon the corrupters of
religion, and in mercy for the comfort and fupport of thofe who op-
pofed it. And thus the wheels of providence moved on, till the morning
of reformation appeared in our happy land, which, for fome centuries,
hath been gradually advancing, and ftill continues to advance, towards
the perfect day. For a fpirit of religious liberty, which hath been long
opprefled, revives and gains ftrength, the fcriptures are more carefully
fludied, ecclefiaftical tyranny and perfecution, under every form, more
generally detefted ; and things feem to have a tendency towards love,
unity, and concord, the moft perfect ftate of religion in this world.
XV. This muff, give pleafure to every good man, and he will cheer-
fully join his endeavours to bring on the next glorious difpenfation,
which we have in profpecl:, when the myjlery of God, with regard to
the aforefaid corrupt ftate of religion, Jhall be finijhed; when Babylon,
in all its principles and powers, fhall fall ; when the holy city, the new
Jerufalem, fhall come down from Heaven, and God mail fet up a pure
and happy ftate of the church.
XVI. How long that ftate will continue, we do not certainly know.
Nor have we any further clear difcoveries of God's works till the aw-
ful day of the refurredlion, when the Lord himfelf fhall in psrfon de-
fcend from heaven with a fhout, with the voice of the arch-angel,
and the trump of God. Then all they that pep in the dujl of the earth
Jhall awake, and fhall be judged, fome to everlajling life, and fome ta
Jhame and everlajling contempt. And they that be wife, under any of the
changes and difpenfations of this prefent world, Jhall fhine as the bright-
nefs of the firmament, and they that work together with God, and en-
deavour to turn many to righteoufnefs, as theJlars,for ever and ever.
Thus I have given a fketch of the works of God from the beginning
of the world to the confummation of all things. And very beautiful
and furprifing would the whole appear, could we fee them in a full and
clear light. But before we attempt a more particular explication of
them in their feyeral views, circumftances, and connexions, we mufi
make a few general remarks, which will afiift our conceptions and in-
quiries,
CHAP,
14 General Remarh upon the Ch. Ill,
CHAP. III.
General Remarks upon the Divine Dispensations.
CONCERNING the foregoing difpenfations, we may irf
general remark, that as they are devifed and executed by
God—
I. They are all agreeable to the moil perfect rules of righteoufnefs
and truth. Nothing falfe, unjuSt, or injurious, can be charged upon the
divine constitutions. For (Deut. xxxii. 4.) all God's ways are judg»
ment\ a God of truth, and without iniquity ; jujl and right is he, Pfal.
cxlv. 17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy, Steadily acting
according to truth, in all bis works. See alio Rev. xv. 3. And there-
fore they are in perfect confidence with each other.
II. The ways of God are not to be confidered as the effect of necef-
fity, as if the end propofed could not poflibly have been otherwife gained;
but as the refult of wife choice, or divine prudence, preferring fuch par-
ticular methods as preferable to any other, as beSt adapted to our circum-
ftances, or, all things confidered, as the moft likely to make mankind
wife and happy. For inStance, it is by the difpenfation of God, that
our prefent life is fuftained by food; not becaufe it is impoflible we
fliould live in any other way, for God could fuftain our life in perfect
health and Strength by an act of his own immediate power. Againj
©ur food is produced by the influence of the fun, by rain, the fertility
of the ground, human labour and fkill ; not becaufe food could not be
otherwife produced, for God could, by an immediate act of his own
power, create food for us every day, as he did for the Israelites in the
wildernefs; but this method of fuftaining our life is a contrivance of
divine wifdom, to (hew himfelf to our understandings, (for, had we
been fuftained by an immediate act of divine power, we Should have
been led to imagine, that, not God, but our own nature, had fuStaincd
itfelf) and to exercife our virtue and induitry in providing a fubfiSt-
ence, and to be mutually helpful to each other. Hence the works of
God, in fcripture, are aSfigned to his wifdom. See Pfal. civ. 24. Prov.
viii. 22. Ephef i. 5, &c. — iii. 9, 10.
III. Afl'uredly all the difpenfations of God arecalculated to promote
virtue and happinefs. This is the line which runs through the whole,
as will appear in our future inquiries into the nature and tendencies of
each of them. At prefent it may Suffice toobferve, that, however our
circumStances may differ from thofe of our SirSt parents, the end of our
being is the fame as theirs; and we, as well as they, are upon trial, in
order to our having the habits of holinefs formed in us, and our being
fitted for eternal life. And though it is a fad reflection to confider, how
the wickednefs of men hath from time to time fatigued the patience of
God, yet it muSt give us pleafure to ofrfcrve, how his goodnefs hath ap-
plied various remedies to prevent, or heal, the corruptions of mankind.-
In what way Soever men have gone aftray from him, his wifdom has ne-*
yer been at lofs to find out the moSt proper expedients to reclaim them.
Evidently
Ch. III. Divine Difpenfations. JjJ
Evidently his defign is to fave a finful world, and to carry religion,
both in its perfonal influences, and general prevalence, to the higheft
perfection our prefent condition will admit (a).
IV. The fcriptural difpenfations, which have been enumerated, were
fcverally adapted to the then capacities and improvements, the moral
ftate and circumftances of mankind. The feveral ages of the world
may be compared to the feveral fiages of human life, infancy, youth,
manhood, and old-age. Now, as a man under due culture gradually
improves in knowledge and wifdom, from infancy to old-age, fo we
may conceive of the world, from the beginning to the end, as gra-
dually improving in mental and religious attainments under the feveral
divine difpenfations (b). Which difpenfations have been in every pe-
riod Anted to the improvements in knowledge and wifdom, which then
fubfifted in the world, jldam., when created, may be considered as a
child without knowledge, learning, and experience; and therefore the
difpenfation he was under, was very different from that which we are un-
der, who enjoy the benefit and light of fo many preceding difpenfations.
Corollary. J preceding difpenfation is intended and adapted to intro-
duce and prepare for that which comes after it. Experience is a natural
and certain mean of improving in knowledge and wifdom. This is
univerfally true, as well with regard to communities as fingle perfons.
It is therefore agreeable to the nature of things, that in a progressive
courfe of knowledge, and moral improvement, what we already have
experienced fhould be a ftep to further advances; and .confequently, ia
a juft plan or fcheme of difciplinc, it is fit, that what goes before,
fliould be adapted to clear and eftablifh what is to come after. Thus
mankind, reflecting upon preceding difpenfations, will be admonifhed
and directed to reform old errors and corruptions ; and thus, even the
monftrous apoilacy of the church of Rome may ferve to introduce and
eftablifh that moft perfect irate of Chriftianity, which we expect will
fucceed the difpenfation we are now under.
V. All God's difpenfations are in a moral way, and adapted to the
nature of rational agents. Exod. xiii. 17, Force and co-action deftroy
the
(a) Now, if fuch a defign fhall appear evidently to run through the Books
of the Old and New Teftament, a man may, with infinitely greater propriety,
fuppofe the molt perfect drama (where the fineft defign is carried on by the
belt chofen plot, and by the molt confiltent underplots, and beautiful, well-
proportioned incidents) to have been writ by a number of the greatelt mad-
men or idiots, by piece-meal, in different ages ; than imagine a thread of fuch
an end and mean running through above 40 writers, in more than ? 600 years,
to be the work of fo many enthufiafts. Or, we may as well fuppofe the world
to be framed by mere chance ; or the moll magnificent, beautiful, and conve-
nient palace, that the imagination can figure to itfelf, to be built by men un-
acquainted with all the rules of architecture, in feveral diltant ages, and with-
out any model to build by, and to be fupported by mere chance, through
as many more ; as imagine fuch an unity of defign and mean, as I have de-
scribed, to be the refult of enthufiafm and accident mixed together. Ld.
Barringtoris Effay on the Div. Difpenfations. Part I. Preface, p. 26.
(b) Ages of a Man. 6. 16. 20. 30. 40. 50. 60. 70.
Ages of the World. 600. 1600, 2000. 3000. 4000. 5000. 6000. 7000.
l6 General Remark's upon the Ch. Ill,
the very nature of holinefs ; and therefore all divine methods of refor-
mation are fo wifely adjufted, as to leave human actions in their proper
ftate of freedom. By none of his works did God ever intend to render
wickednefs impracticable; and he hath always provided fufficient fup-
ports for integrity and virtue. With this very fentiment prophecy in
Daniel and in the Revelation is fealed up. Rev. xxii. II. He that is
unjujl, let him be unjuji Jlill; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy Jlill.
That is to fay, there is no cure for the obftinately blind and wicked ;
neither are the ways of God intended to purify thofe, who will not be
made clean ; but, after all that God hath done, the wicked (Dan. xii.
10.) /hall be left to do wickedly. And none of the wicked will under/land,
but only the wife will under/land. But he that is righteous, let him be
righteous J Till ; and he that is holy, let him be holy Jlill. Hof. xiv. 9. Who
is wife, and \for~\ he fijall under/land thefe things? Prudent, and [for] he
Jhall know them f For the ways of Jehovah are right; and the jujl Jhall
walk in them ; but the tranfgreffors Jhall fall in them. The fincere and
upright, who choofe the way of truth, or turn from fin unto righ-
teoulnefs, the righteous and merciful God will never forfake. They
make a wife improvement of his difpenfations, and, under all trials and
difficulties, he will guide and fupport them ; and their path (hall be as
the (hining light, that fhineth more and more to the perfect day.
Corollary. Hence we may conclude — That in computing the progrefs
rf religion, under any difpenfation, the quantity of knowledge and religion is
to be meafured only by the improvement of the righteous; and that the wicked,
how many fo ever, are not to be taken into the account, as making any deduc-
lionsfrom it. Or, the advancesof knowledge and religion, under any
difpenfation, are not to be eftimated by numbers, but by the profi-
ciency of fingle perfons, how few foever. Noah, a fingle perfon, was,
at the time of the deluge, the true ftandard of religious improvement
in that age ; though all the reft of mankind were exceeding corrupt
and wicked.
VI. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world,
faith the apoftle James, Aftsxw 18. Then all God's works were formed
and planned in his counfels, and lay under his eye in one comprehenfive
view; and therefore muft be perfectly confident. One uniform fcheme
muft be laid, and one even thread of defign muft run through the whole.
They are not the refult of fudden, incoherent thoughts ; but a well di-
gefted plan, formed upon the moftjuft principles by him who feeth all
his works from the beginning to the end. Whence it follows, that if
we do not difcern one coherent defign in the divine difpenfations, or if
we make any one part clafh with the reft, we may be fure we do not un-
derrtand them. Goodnefs was the principle of creation. God made man
becaufehe delighted to communicate being and happinefs. Confequently,
goodnefs and fatherly love, which was the beginning and foundation of
God's works, muft run equally through them all, from firft to laft.
VII. Previous notice was given of fome of the principal difpenfations,
cither for warning, or to prepare men for the reception of them. The
deluge was preached by Noah 120 years before it came to pafs. The
Jewifh difpenfuion was predicted to Abraham 430 years beforehand. Je-
remiah foretold the Babylonifli captivity ; and Paul, and John at large,
predict
Chs, III. tolv'tnt 'Difpenfations. I?
predict and ilefcrTBe the grand apoftacy. But the coming of the MeJ/iah,
and thegofpeldifpenfation,run through the whole, from the beginning to
the end, in a lefs or clearer degree of light. And it was fitting that this,
which is the chief of God's works, fhould receive the brighteft evidence
from prophecy. And therefore it was not fit it fhould be introduced till
fuch time as it had received that evidence; which in Scripture is called
thefulnefs of time. Gal. iv. 4.
VIII. The difpenfations of God are intended for our contemplation
and ftudy 3 and it is a fingular advantage to form right notions of them,
becaufe they will tincture our conceptions of God, and influence our dif-
pofitions towards him. If we judge truly of God's works, we fhall have
agreeable and lovely ideas of the workman. His wifdom, his goodnefs and
truth, will ftand in a fair light, and we fhall confefs him infinitely worthy
of our higheff. regard. Then we fhall think of God with admiration,
pleafure and delight, (Pfal. xcii.4. Thou, Lord, haft made me glad through
thy work-, I will triumph in theivorks of thy hands) and fhall ferve and fol-
low him with willing minds. But if we form fuch conceptions of
the ways of God, as reprefent them to be arbitrary and tyrannical,
inconfiftent with all our notions of juftice and goodnefs, the effect of
fovereign will, without either reafon or love, he muft ftand before our
thoughts in the mod frightful colours. The moft horrible gloom will be
drawn over the perfections of the belt of beings ; our minds will be filled
with darknefs and dread ; and, if we worfhip him at all, our worfhip
and obedience will not be the free and generous duty of fons, but the
joylefs conftrained drudgery of flaves.
IX. It muft be remembered, that the works of God are unfearchable,
and paft our finding out to perfection. Pfal. xcii. 5. O Lord, how great
are thy works, and thy thoughts are very deep! From a juft fenfe of
the inferutability of the divine difpenfations, the apoftle concludes a dif-
courfe upon the rejection of the Jews, and the calling of the Gentiles,
with this folemn exclamation : O the depth of the riches, loth of the zuifdom
and knowledge of God ! How unfearchable are his judgments, and his ways
pajl finding out I Rom.xi. 33. It becomes us to admire and adore the
counfels of infinite wifdom, and to acquiefce where we cannot gain a
full knowledge of them. Rev. xv. 3. Great and marvellous are thy ivorks9
Lord God Almighty ! We cannot comprehend the ways of God in their
fulleft extent, in all their largeft views, and remoteft connexions. He
therefore that is wife will not cavil at them, nor foolifhly endeavour
to pry into them beyond the bounds of revelation, and of human
underftanding.
X. But under all our prefent darknefs, and under every difpenfation,
an honeft heart, fincerely defirous to know the truth, ferioufly inquifitive
after it, meekly fubmiilive to what God hath revealed and commanded,
willing to work together with him, patiently perfevering in well doing;'
fuch a temper, an 1 fuch a conduct, is the beft and iafeft guide under every
difpenfation j will enable us to follow God, to comply with every defign
of his providence, to overcome in every hour of trial, and will lead us
to eternal life. To fuch a character, as well as to Daniel, (Chap.
*ii. 13.) it is the language of divine grace — But walk thou, thou
Jhoneft, upright man, walk thou thy way to the end3 take courage and
Vol. I. B comfort^
it Of the Creation. Ch. IV.
comfort, walk on, perfevcre in the path of truth and integrity ; for,
after all the trials and difquietudes of this world, thou Jhalt reji, and
jiund in thy lot, the lot of pious and faithful fouls, at the end of the days.
CHAP. IV.
Of the Creation.
Gen. i. 1 — 26.
THI S is the work of creation. To create is to give Being to that
which did not exift before; and fo, is no contradiction. That
a thing fhould be and not be at the fame tune, is a contradiction and im-
poflibiiity ; but that a thing fhould exift now, which did not exift be-
fore, is no more a contradiction, than that my hand fhould move now,
which did not move before.
That there is one fir ft uncaufed Caufe, from which all other beings
derive their exiftence, and upon whom they have their entire depend-
ence, hath already been proved. Conlequently, all beings, except the
firft Caufe, muft have been produced, or brought into being, by the
power and agency of the firft Caufe. Not produced, out of nothing,
but out of nothing be fides the immenfe and unconceivable fulnefs of
the felf-exiftent Being, who muft have in himfelf the power and pof-
fibility of all being ; though we cannot comprehend or conceive in
what manner, or by what kind cf agency, he createth or communi-
cateth exiftence to beings diftindt. from himfelf.
Of the Creation of all things, Mofcs in this chapter has given us a
fummary account ; not in a precife philofophical manner, but fo as to
give the men of that age in which he wrote, juft and affecting notions
of this firft and moft ftupendous work of God, fo far as was neceil'ury
to the purpofes of true religion, and no further. It is enough, there-
fore, that his account is true, fo far as it goes, and not in any rc-
fpect inconfiftent with the moft accurate difcoveries which have been
made in later ages concerning the fyftem of the univerfe, or any part
of it.
Vex. I. In the beginning, &c. The heavens and the earth may compre-
hend the whole univerfe, or all things vifible and invifble. It doth not
therefore follow, that the whole univerfe was created all together at
once, or at fome one period of time. But the meaning is this ; at firft,
when the univerfe was produced, it was brought into being by the fole
power and wifdom of the almighty and eternal God. This is true,
though the feveral parts of the univerfe may have been produced at dif-
ferent times, or at any diftance of time from each other; and though
God may frill be creating new worlds in the immenfe bofom of fpace,
which is not improbable : I fay, it is true, that in the beginning of their
exiftence, whenever that was. God created, and is ftill creating, them
" all;
tk. IV. Of the Creation. 19
all ; the fentlrrient which Mofesy I apprehend, would inculcate being
this, that the whole univerfe of beings, whenever created, doth not
exift by neceflity or chance ; but had a beginning, and was produced by
the fole power of God.
But, as Mofes here gives us a particular account of the formation of
our earthj this phrafe, in the beginning, may have a fpecial reference to
the time when our earth was created. The matter of which it confifts,
was produced in the ftate of a Chaos, ( Ver. 2.) without form and void?
i. e. fhapelefs, wafle, and ufelefs; all the parts, folidsand fluids, jumbled
together, and furrounded with darknefs, unadorned, uninhabited. But
the fpirit of God movsd upon the face of the waters ; i. e. the influences
and exertions of the divine power actuated this dark, confufed mafs,
and digefted, and reduced its parts to the beautiful ftate and order in
which we now behold them.
On the firft day, and the iiift thing after the production of the Chaos y
the element of light was created. Ver. 3, 4, 5.
On the fecond day was created the element of air, or that body
of air which we call the Atmofphere, y ■ p~tn the firmament, or rather,.
fpacious ex pa nil oii of air, where the fowls do fly, (Ver. 20.) and
which is fpread abroad above, and all round the earth, including me-
teors and clouds, which are the waters above, or at the upper part of,
the atmofphere, in contradiftinction to the waters of the fea and rivers,
which are under in Ver. 6, 7, 8.
• On the third day the great God formed the element of water, by
draining off the fluids of the Chaos, and caufing them to flow into large
cavities prepared to receive them ; that thus the earth might become
one firm, compact, voluble globe, and in a fit condition to produce
graf*, herbsj trees, and plants, which were then created. Ver. 9, 10,
iii 12.
On the fourth day God created the fun and moon. Ver. 14 — 19.
The fun being the centre of our fyftem, it feems probable that the whole
folar fyftem was produced at the fame time with the earth, though the
defign of the writer did not lead him to take notice of the other parts
of it. But we have no juft ground, from his account, to fuppofe that
all the ftars, which are probably each of them the centre of a diitinct
fyftem, were, on this day, all of them created. Moft of them might
have been created long before, and fome of them fince, our world came
into being. For that Claufe (Ver. 16.) he made the flars alfo, in the
Hebrew is no more than, and the fiars; the words he made being in-
ferted by the tranflators. And therefore it may be Well rendered thus—*
Ver. 16. And God made tivo great lights ; the greater light to rule the day9
and the leffer light to rule the night with the flars. That is to fay, the moon,
and f tars to rule the night, as it is expreiTed, Pfal. exxxvi. 9. The con-
junction 1 fometimes hath the force of the prepofition with ; as Gen. iv,
20. With his weapons. 2 King. xi. 8. Jer. xxii. 7. iffc.
Hitherto our globe, and perhaps the other planets, might, by the
power of God, be fufpended in the empty fpace, in a ftate of reft.
But now, when the fun, the centre of our fyftem, was created, and
the earth was reduced to a proper ftate of firmnefs and folidity, they
might be thrown into thofe regular and rapid motions, about the fun,
B 2 and
SO Of the Creation. Ch. IV.
and their own centres, which, by the fame power imprefTed upon them,
continue to this day; and by their exa<ft periodical revolutions produce
that grateful and neceflary variety of day and night and feafons; namely,
fpring and fummcr, autumn and winter; which are certainly the efFeiSl
of the annual and diurnal motions of the earth ; and therefore the an-
nual and diurnal motions might on this day commence. Ver. 14.
On the fifth day, fifh and fowl ; on the fixth day, beafts and man
Were created. Ver. 20, cifc.
There is one difficulty remaining, namely, that light was created
before the fun, Ver. 3, 14, &c. Whereas the fun is fuppofed to be the
fole fountain of light, by emitting luminous particles from its body. But
I fufpeA the truth of this hypothesis ; and Mofes may be found a more
accurate philofopher than is commonly imagined. It appears from elec-
trical experiments, that light is a diftindf. fubftance from all other, as
much as air is from water; and that, by being properly excited, it may
be made to appear in midnight darknefs. Which (hews, that it did
exift in that darknefs, previoufly to its being excited ; and that it was-
rendered viable by being excited. Confequently it may, and, I doubt
not, doth exift, expanded through the whole vifible fyftem of things at all
times, by night as well as by day ; and that the fun, a fiery body, is, in
our fyftem, the great exciter, by which the fubftance of light is impelled,
and becomes vifible. For, were there no fubftance of light previoufly
exifting throughout the whole fyftem, no light would appear, though ten
thoufand funs fhould at once be placed in our hemifphere. Juft as tho
ringing of the bell produces found, not by an emanation of particles from
the fubftance of the bell, but by exciting the air, or the founding fubftance,
without which the bell could produce no found at all. As the air will
fiot found, fo the light will not appear without being excited •. Upon this
fup-
* This hypothec's, I prefume, doth not interfere with any rules of optic*,
the rays of light being excited according to the fame laws and directions by
which they are fuppofed to be emitted. The light of a candle, upon an emi-
nence, may be feen at leaft three miles at fea, in a dark night. Therefore,
according to the common fuppofuion, the flame of a candle, fuppofe of one
inch diameter, mull emit from its body inilantaneoufly, and in every inftant,
while it continues to burn, as much luminous matter, or fubftance, as will fill
a fpherical fpace of fix miles in diaineter; or of 113,0976 cubical miles;
which, notwithftanding the di viability of matter in infinitum, feems to me
to be incredible. It is furely more probable and rational to fuppofe, that the
extremely agile particles of lights which fill that large fpace, are actuated, of
excited inilantaneoufly by the luminous body.
N. B. Dr. Taylor, fome time after he had finilhed this fcheme of fcrip-
ture divinity, met with the fame thought and reafoning in the ingenious au-
thor of Nature Displayed; and was not a little pleafed to find an hypo-
thefis, which he judged peculiar to himfelf, adopted by fo deep an inquirer
into nature.
That the curious reader may compare the paflages, he is prefented with
the following extract.
•' — * Light is viflbly pre-exiftent to luminous bodies: this may feem a
" paradox at firft fight, but it is not therefore a lefs evident truth. —By light
♦' wc
* "Vol. III. Page ^09. Sccund Edition*
Ch. IV. Of the Creation* 21
fuppofition the element or fubftance of light was created on the firflday*
and the divine power alone might be the exciter, which made the light
appear
*' we do not mean that fenfation which we -experience in ourfelves, on the
" prefence of any illuminated body, but that inconceivably fubtle matter,
*' which makes an impreflion on the organs of fight, and paints on the optic
f* nerve thofe objeds from the furfaces of which it was reflected to us. Light
*' then, taken in this fenfe, is a body quite different from the fun, and inde-
•* pendent on it, and might have exifted before it, feeing now it does exift ia
" its abfence, as well as when prefent. It is diffufed from one end of the
" Creation to the other, traverfes the whole univerfe, forms a communis
" cation between the molt remote fpheres, penetrates into the inmoft receffes
•' of the earth, and only waits to be put in a proper motion to make itfelf
** visible. — Light is to the eye what the air is to the ear : Air may not b«
'* called the body of found, and it does equally exift all round us, though
" there be no fonorous body to put it in motion ; fo likewife the light does
" equally' extend at all times, from the moftdiftant fixed ftars, to us, though
" it then only ilrikes our eyes, when impelled by the fun, or fome other
'* mafs of fire.
M The difference betwixt the propagation of found and light confifts in
" this, that the air, which is the vehicle of found, being, beyond all com-
" parifon, more denfe than the vehicle of light, its motion is much flower.
" Hence we may account for that common phenomenon, why we do not
" hear the found of the firft ftroke of a hammer, when at a diftance from it,
*' till it is at the point of giving the following blow ; whereas light is pro-
" pagated with incredible fwiftnefs, though at fome fmall diftance of time
*' between its receiving theimpuife, and its communicating it to us ; feven
•* minutes, according to Sir Isaac Newton's calculation, being fufficient for
** its paffage from the fun down to us. This difference of velocity between
*' the progreflive motion of light, and that of found, is fenfibly demonftrated
" by firing a gun in a large open pla'n, where the fpe&ator, at a great
** diftance from it, will perceive the flath a ccnfiderable time before he hears
'* the noife.
" The body of light therefore does either exift independently of the lumi-
*' nous body, and only waits to receive a direct impulfe from it, in order to
" ad upon the organ of vifion ; or we muft fuppofe that every luminous
" body, whether it be the fun, a candle, or a fpark, does produce this light
" from itfelf, and project it to a great diftance from its own body. Thers
4< is no medium between thefe two fuppofitions, and either the one or the
** other muft be true. But to affert the latter, is to afTert a very great im-
" probability ; for if a fpark, which is feen in every part of a large room,
" fifty cubick feet in dimeniions, emits from its own fubftance a quantity of
«' light fufticient to fill the whole room, then there muft iflue from that
" fpark, which is but a point, a body, the contents of which are fifty cu-
'* bick feet. How incredible the fuppofition !
" Suppofe the lantern on the light- houfe of Mcjfma, to be feen only eight
" cubick leagues, of which itfelf is the centre j it will follow, that an
"•' eye placed in any point of thofe fix cubick leagues will difcern it, and
*' confequently fo much fpace will be filled with the light of it. Now how
" incredible that a little fire, fome few inches in diameter, mould diffufe
" around it a fubftance capable of filling eight cubick leagues i Suppofe the
" lantern concealed, and the light immediately difappears ; let it be un-
*' covered the moment after, and it will inftantly be feen as far as before, and
B 3 ** confe-
t£ Of the Creation. Ch. IV,
appear For the three firft days of creation, until the fun, the inftru-
mental exciter, was produced.
Further, we mult remark, that although God is here faid to create
the world, yet it may be true, that he employed a fubordinate agent in
the formation of it ; namely, the Son of God, who afterwards came into
the world for the redemption of mankind. See John i. 2, 3. Col. i. 15,
16, 17. I Cor. viii. 5, 6. But though he was the inftrumental caufe^
yet it is true, that God made all things, becaufe our Lord atted by a
power derived from him. He that bath built all things is God. Heb. iii. <.
' So much for critical remarks. The fubjeft naturally leads to the
following reflections.
" Thefe are thy glorious Works, Parent of Good!
«* Almighty, thine this univerfal Frame,
" Thus wonderous fair ; thyfelf how wonderous then !
How wonderous, how immenfe is the power, goodnefs, and wifdom,
which gave exiftence to the flupendous fabric and furniture of the
univerfe !
I. Power. How vaft and mighty is the arm which fvetched out the
heavens 1 and laid the foundations of the earth ! which fuftains numberlefs
worlds, of amazing bulk, fufpended in the unmeafurable and unconcei-
vably diftant regions of empty fpace ; and fteadily directs their various
rapid and regular motions ! Lift up your eyes on high, and behold tuba
hath created all thefe things. He bringeth out all their ho/Is by number, he
calleth them all by names, by the greainefs of his mighty for that he isfhong
in Power, not one of them failcth. Ijai. xl. 26. How powerful was the
command, Let there be light, and there was light — Let there be a firma-
ment, Sec. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and alt the hoji
$f them by the breath of his mouth. For he /pake, and h was done ; he com-
manded
" cenfequently fill eight cubick leagues of fpace with freih light : then
" hew many times eight cubick leagues of luminous m:::ter, will all thefuc-
f« celTive inllants of illumination produce in one night's time ! Sure nothing
*' was ever more inconceivable.
" On the contrary, how fimpleand natural is it to fuppofe, that as the air
f* exifted before the bell that put it in motion, and caufed it to vibrate into
«« found, Co, in like manner, the light exifted round the fire of Mtjfina, before
" the lantern was illuminated, and only waited to be put in motion by the
*' fire, in order to make an irnpreffion on the eyes of the mariners. The fun
'• and ftarsdo, by the fame means, make themfelves vifible, without fuffering
U any diminution of their fubftance, by continual emanations of luminous
" matter into thoie vaft regions of fpace through which we behold them ;
" God having placed between thofe luminous globes and us, the body of
" that light which we fee, and which is impreftcd on the organs of vifion,
" by their aclion and influence; but does not proceed from them, nor owes'
'.* its exiftence to them. The account of Mofs therefore, as to this par-
" ticular, is agreeable to truth, as well as an uleful lefibn of caution, when
" he informs us, that God, and not the fun, was the author and parent of
" light, and that it was created by his almighty fiat before there was a fun
'* to dart it on one part of the earth, and a moon to reflect it on the other."
Ch. IV. Of the Creation. ft.3
married, and it flood fa/1. Pfal. xxxiii. 6, 9. Thus the Scriptures fub-
]imely exprefs the exertion of the divine Power in Creation; as if it
were done inftantaneoufly, and with as little difficulty as fpeaking a
word.
II. And as for Goodness, what an infinite fulnefs of life and being,
what an immenfe, inexhauftible treafury of all Good, muft that be, from
whence all this life and being was derived ! How infinitely rich is the
glorious and eternal God! Out of his own fulnefs he hath brought
worlds and worlds, replenifhed with myriads and myriads of creatures,
furnifhed with various powers and organs, capacities and inflin«5ts; and
out of his own fulnefs continually and plentifully fupplieth them with,
all the necefTaries of exigence. And ftill his fulnefs remaineth the fame,
unemptied, unimpaired ; and he can yet bring out of his fulnefs worlds
and worlds without end. How immtnfely full of all life and being is
the ijiorious and eternal Godi Thus he is good in himfelf. And he
doth good. He is kind and beneficent, willing to communicate being
and good. How profufe is his bounty ! He might have kept, as I may
fay, the whole of exiitence to himfelf; but he has liberally fhared it
out among his creatures ; and of all his creatures in this world, the
moft liberally to us men. Survey the whole of what may be feen in
and about this globe, and fay, if our Maker hath a fparing and nig-
gardly hand; fay, if we have a churlifh and unkind father. Certainly
it is his pleafure to form creatures, and furhifh them with enjoyment ;
and therefore his tender mercies muft be over all his works.
III. His Wisdom appears illuftrious in the variety, beauty, exacl:-
nefs, order, and harmony, in which God hath formed and fixed the
univerfe ; in the feveral capacities and degrees of excellence he has con-
ferred upon his creatures ; the proper ftations he hath affigned to them;
the fubordination and fubferviency of one to another, which he hath
eftablifhed, for the regularity and well-being of the whole. They
are all, as they come out of his hands, juft what they fhould be, ad-
jufted in theexac"ieft proportions to their feveral ends and connexions;
all in every part and refpect fhewing the workmanfhip of the pro-
foundeft (kill, and moft curious art. The utmoft ftretch of human
■underftanding can reach but a (mall part of God's works ; but they
who ftudy the wifdom of Creation, cannot but admire, and ufe the
words of the facred penman, Pfal. civ. 24. (where he is furveying the
feveral parts of our globe) 0 Lord, how manifold are thy works! In
Wifdom ha/1 thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches !
Thefe reflections will (1) infpire the moft elevated fentiments of the
moft high and mighty Creator, who is exalted infinitely above the hea-
vens, his glory is above all the earth, Pfal. cviii. 5. The Lord our God is
very great, he is clothed with honour and tnajefty ; and we fhould ftudy
to magnify him in our hearts by the moft raifed conceptions of his tran-
fcending greatnefs. (2.) This mould alfofill our minds with joy, and our
mouths with his high praifes. This God is our God, our maker, and
therefore our father. The firft and moft proper notion we ought to en-
tertain of the great God is, that of a Father ; our Father, and the Father
cf the whole univerfe. And greatly fhould we be delighted with the
difplays of our Father's infinite power, wifdom, and goodpefs. Tranf-
▲0 B 4 ported
24 Of the Creation of Man. Ch, V,
ported with joy, by an elegant profopopoeia, the Pfalmift, in the 148th
pfalm, call? upon all creatures to praife God ; wifhing, in effect, tnat
they had all of them understandings and tongues to declare how much
ildll and kindnefs he has fhewn in their formation and eftabiifhrnent.
Joy and praife are the Creator's due, and fhould be our conftant tem-
per and practice. (3.) He who is the maker, is alfo the abfolute pro-
prietor, Lord, and Sovereign of all things; and therefore hath thcj
firft and hjgheft right to our reverence, fubmiffion, and obedience; in
which he is infinitely able to fupport us in oppofition to all human
power and authority. For all Power, not only his own inherent
power, but alfo the Power of all created beings, belongs to God. From
him it is originally derived, and the exerci'je of it depends entirely upon
his will and pleafure ; nor, in any inftar.ce, can it poffibly act beyond
the limits which he prescribes. Therefore, in the way of duty, re-
lying upon his all-fufficiency, we need not fear what man can do unto
us. (4.) In our prefent fituation we are liable to many difficufties and
diitrefles, from which we are not able to guard or extricate ourfelvesj
but the almighty Creator is infinitely able to deliver his fervants from
any danger, and can clear a paflage through all embarraflments. He
can make a way even in the lea, and a path in the mighty waters,
(5.) He who from his own inexhauftible fulnefs hath brought forth all
worlds and creatures, is our fhepherd ; he careth for us, and can fully
fupply all our .. nts. (6.) He can fully accemplifh all the great and
glorious things revealed in the Gofpel. He can raife us from the dead,,
change our vile bodies, and clothe us with immortal honour and glory.
Thi? iLould not feem to us incredible, becauie he hath already per-
formed things as incredible, and we have conftantly expol'ed to our/
view effects of his Power no lei's wonderful.
CHAP. V.
Of the Creation of Ma if.
Gen. i. 26, to the End,
N language of the Creator is altered. Inftead of, Let there be Men,
God laid, (Ver. 26.) La us make Alan, or, we will make Man, in our
image, ajter our hkenefs. Q_. d. u Now we have formed and furnifhed
f* the earth, let us make Man, the nobleft of our works, to inhabit,
f* cultivate, and enjoy it." The fuperior excellency of the human
nature is figotfied by the diftinguifhed manner in which God is repre-
fented as addrcifing himfelf to the formation of Man.
The plural number is ufed [A'nd Godfaid, let us make Man\ ; but ac-
cording to the genius of the Hebrew language, this is only a magnificent
way of exprffling the majeity of God ; and amounts to no more than this,
Jna[God Jaidy 1 will make Man. So Gtn. xi. 7. Go to, lit us go down, i. e.
1 will
Ch. V. Of the Creation of Man. tfk
I will go down. Thus God is called our Makers, Job xxxv. 10. Pfal.
cxlix. 2. 7£v Creators, Eccl. xi». I, 77>y wci«?r* is thy hufbands, Ifai. liv. 5.
which are all to be underftood, and are rendered in the lingular num-
ber. " Nouns appellative denoting dominion, according to the He-
" brew idiom, are put in the plural inflead of the lingular." Should it
be fuppofed, that the great God here fpeaks to fome other being or be-
ings befides himfelf, it mud be to fome Subordinate beings ; for neither
this, nor any other paflage of fcripture, can juftly be explained incon-
fiftently with the unity, fimplicity, or finglenefs of the divine nature.
Ver. 26. Let us make Man in our own Image, S^Heb. in the (ketch or
Shadow of us | after, or like, our Likenefs. Thefe words, with refpeft
to God, are diminutive, and denote that the moft perfect endowments
of the human nature are but a fketch, a ihadow, or fomething refem-
bling the Likenefs of God. And yet, with refpect to other creatures
on earth, it fpeaks high diftinction, and fuperiority. P'or this fketch of
the Image of God in Man muff, include, 1. The noble faculties of his
mind j understanding and will, or freedom of choice, for the govern-
ment of all his actions and paffions, and his continual improvement in
wifdom, purity, and happinefs. 2. His dominion over the inferior
creatures, exprefsly mentioned, ver. 26, 28. By which he is God's
Reprefentative, or Viceroy upon earth.
But divines have underifood this Image of God, as confifting in
righteoufnefs and true holinefs; which they affirm, were created with
Adam* Meaning, not that Mam was created with fuch powers as ren-
dered hirr capable of acquiring righteoufnefs and holinefs, but that he
was made in this Image of God ; it was concreated with him, or wrought
into his nature, at the fame time that it was created ; and fo belonged
to it as a natural faculty or inflinct. This they call original righteouf-
nefs, which they ground principally upon the two following paflages.
Col. iii. 9, 10. Lye not one to another, feeing that you have [by your Ohrif-
tian profefiion] put off the old man with his deeds \ end have put on the new
man, which i; renewed hi knowledge after the Image of him that created him.
El hef. iv. 22, 23, 24. That ye put off, concerning the former converfation,
tie old man. which is corrupt according to the deceitful Iujis : and be renewed
in the fpirit of your mind ; and that ye put on the new ?nan, which after
Qcd is created in righteoufnefs and true holinefs. All this is fuppofed to
relate to Mam's being originally created in the Image of God.
The old man, fay ihey, is a corrupt nature derived from Mam; and
the ntw man, is fallen man reftored to the primitive temper, or to that
righteoufnefs and holinefs in which they fuppofe Adam was created.
But this is wide of the Apoftle's fenfe. It is not uncommon with him
to compare the Chriff ian church to a man, or the human body, of which
Qhrijl is the head, and we are all of us members in particular. The
new man was created, when God erected the Gofpel Difpenfation, and
broke down the middle Wall of Partition between us Jews and Gentiles,
(Ephef. ii. 13, 14, 15, 16.) for to make to himfelf, in the Gofpel, of twain,
or of the two parties, believing Jews and Gentiles, one new man, or
the new conftitution and community, under the Gofpel. To this new
man, the old man is directly oppofed ; and therefore muft fignify the Gen-
tile itate or community, headed by Satan, to which, before their con-
verfion,
16 Of the Creation of Man. Ch. V.
ve.fion, thev were joined. This is confirmed by the Apoftle, Ephef. ii.
1 1 . J* her ef ore re member , that ye being in time faffed Gentiles in thejiejhy
&c. And chap. iv. 17, &c. This I fay — that ye walk not as ether Gek-
TILES walk, &c. They formerly belonged to the old man, the body of
impure, idolatrous heathen ; but now they had, by their Chriftian pro-
fefiion, put o^this old man, together with all his wicked deeds, Col. iii.
9, 10, and had put on the new man, or were'joined to the Chriftian church,
or community. And therefore, they were obliged to be renewed in the
fpirit of their minds, and to live in knowledge [true wifdom], or in righte*
eufieji and fue holinefs. For God created the new man, or constituted
the Chriftian church, in wifdom andrighteoufnefs and holinefs, after his
own Image, or the rectitude of his nature, with this defign, to promote
the fame rectitude among men. For (Ephef ii. 10.) we, the new Man,
or the whole body of Chriftian?, are God's wcrkmanjlr.f, created in Chrift
Jelus unto good works, which God ordained^ when he formed the Gofpcl
Scheme, that we Jhould walk in them.
But what hath this to do with Adam's being created in righteoufnefs
and true holinefs? Which, in the nature of things, could not be crea-
ted, or wrought into his nature at the fame time he was made ; becaufe
fuch a righteoufnefs would have been produced in him without his knew-
ledge and confent ; and fo would have been no righteoufnefs at all. For
whatever is wrought in my nature without my knowledge and choice,
cannot poflibly be either fin or virtue in me, becaufe it is no act of mine $
but muft be a mere natural inftinct, like the induftry of the bee, or
the fiercenefs of the lion. Righteoufnefs is right action, directed by
knowledge and iudgment ; but Adam could neither act, nor know, nor
judge, before he and all his intellectual powers were created ; and
therefore he muft exift and ufe his intellectual powers, before he could
be righteous and holy.
We may further obferve — That God made the firft pair male and fe-
male, that they might multiply and inhabit the whole earth, and fupply
a perpetual fucceffion of men and women, pronouncing a bl effing upon
the regular propagation of the human fpecies, ver. 2S. AndGod hleffcd
them, &zc. But this blefimg, divines have fuppofed, was turned into a
curie, by Adam's tranfgreffion ; which fo corrupted the human nature,
that thereby and thenceforth we all come into the world under the wrath
and curfeof God. But that thisalfo is a miftake, is moft evident from
Gen. ix. 1. where God repeats, and pronounces the very fame original
bleffing upon the increafe or birth of mankind 1600 years, and upwards,
after Adam's tranfgreffipn, when the world was to be reftored, and re-
plenished from Noa.b and his fons. This proves, that mankind, in all
fucceflive generations, have come, and will come into the world, under
the very fame bleffing and favour of God, which was declared at the firft
creation of Man. It is of great importance to obferve thefe remarks,
not to produce any difguft or animofity towards thofe that efpoufe the
contrary opinion, who ought to be treated with candour and forbearance,
but to fettle our own judgments upon right principles.
Once more; the original grant of fultenance to Man was confined
to herbs, and the fruits of plants and trees, ver, 29, 30. which afterwards
was enlarged, and included animal food, Gen. ix. 3.
Now
Ch. V. Of the Creation of Mar.. 27
Now let us take a furvey of the nature which God has gracioufly be-
flowed upon*is. The body confifts of a mean material, the dujl of the
d\ but the mind is of nobler extraction, for (chap. ii. 7.) God
grow
vr cached into his noftrik the breath cf life, and .Man became a living fold. Job
xxxii. 8. The injpiration of the Almighty giveth us underflanding •> the no-r
blcft £;:ft of our Maker. The force and excellence of which appears
in a furprifing variety of inventions and difcovcries. It is this faculty
which penetrates into the moft fecret recefles of Nature ; judges of, and
admires the beauty and contrivance of the vail fabric of the univerfe;
and traceth the footfteps of the moft aftonifhing wifdom and regularity
in the various fituations and motions of the heavenly bodies. By this
we review generations and actions, characters and events, that exifted
long before we were born ; and dart our reflections the other way, into
futurity, even as far as to the final period of this world, with all its
works. By this we conceive, though but negatively, Eternity itfelf;
and apprehend the ftate and felicity of beings far fuperior to ourfelves.
By this we ftretch our thoughts to the highefl excellency, and contem-
plate the nature of the infinitely perfect Being.
Our fingular honour and advantage lies in our moral capacities. Whle
inftinct determines the purfuits of inferior creatures; whilft they are
utterly unable to judge of caufes and effects, to draw confequences, or
to reafon about the natures and tendencies of things, in order to avoid
Gr embrace, and are rather acted upon than act ; we deliberate, we
choofe our way, we feel and examine what is before us; this is good,,
and therefore to be chofen ; this is evil, therefore to be avoided;
this will improve and exalt our life, this leads to dishonour and mifery.
We can fludy and obferve the precepts of Divine Wifdom ; imitate the
moral perfections of Deity; converfe with the fupreme Father, and de-
fire, and difpofe ourfelves for, the everlafting enjoyment of his favour.
And agreeably to thele diflinguifhing honours of our nature, God our
Maker, whofe delights are with the children of men, has exprefled his
high regards to us, by fupplying us with all proper materials for the
improvement of our understandings ; not only the objects of nature;
but alfo the writings of good and wife men, efpecially the holy
Scriptures, a rich treafury of the molt excellent knowledge ; containing
the moft furprifing difcoveries, the moft ufeful inftructions, the moft;
juft and noble principles and motives, and whatever is proper to culti-
vate and refine our fpirits. In particular, the redemption of the world
by our Lord Jefus Chrift. That God ihould fend his well-beloved Sort
out of his bofom to dwell among us in our flefh, to reveal the high dc-
figns of the Divine Wifdom and Goodnefs, to give himfelf a faenfice
and offering to God upon the crofs, to make atonement for our fins, to
raife us to the dignity of kings and priefts to his God and Father, that
we might reign for ever with him ; this ex;ilts the love of God to men,
infinitely beyond our higheft thoughts and imaginations ; this raifes our
nature to an amazing, to an inexpreilible dignity and value.
Thefe conliderations ihould difpoie us to be pieafed with our being,
and thankful to our Maker for it. With pleafure we {heuld reflect that
we are men. Every perfon, how low foever in the world, hath that in
poileflicn, which is more valuable than thoufandsof gold and filver ; an
immenfe
«8 Of the In/litution CH. VI.
immenfe treafure, to which the whole earth bears no proportion, himfelf
a reasonable .Sou!, an immortal Spoil ; to which, in re#l excellence,
the vifible creation, the earth with all its material riches,' the fky with
all its fpjendid furniture, is not to be compared. Let us not meafure
f>u- Lives by worldly riches. The foul is the flandard of the Man, and
raifes him i aftly above all that is earthly. Howfoolifh then, how fhame-
I'u!, bow irr us i- it to proftitute ourfelves to the trifles of the world ;
to he f" . d i arthly things, and to make our reafon a drudge to fenfual
purfuits! God has made us Men, creatures of the fincft powers and fa-
culties; h- hath ufed us as Men, by mining the moft ample provifion
to enable us to honour his Grace and our own being. And fh ill we
efefert our Manhood ? Shall we defpife the rich bounty of Heaven ?
Shall we mingle with the duft that particle of fuperior life, which God
hath breathecT into us ? Rather let us aflert the dignity of our being,
and make it our principal care to improve it by all the advantages Ijod
hath provided. The knowledge of God; conformity of heart and life
to his will ; thr fruits of the fpirit, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentle-
nefs, soodnT, fidelity, meeknefs, temperance ; converfe with God ; the
high privileges of the ions of God ; the profpeds of eternal g:o:y ; thefe
are the objects of our care : as we are enlightened by the Gofpel, we
are obliged to make thefe cur rtudy, and to form our fpirits according
to the fubiime and excellent fentiments which thefe infpire, that thus we
may be fitting ourfelves for a much higher and more perfect degree or
cxiftence ia a better world.
CHAP. VI.
Of the Institution of the Sabbath.
Gen. ii. Ver. I, 2, 3.
S foon as God had created the world, and man in it, he blejjed the
Seventh Da\<, upon which he refted from creation, and fantli-
.^ccHt, i. e. he uiftmguiihed it from the other fix days by fetting it
apart'to the purpofes of religion. Thus the falsification of the Sab-
bath is the firft and oldeft of God's inftitutions, and mull have a real
foundation in the nature of Man, and an immediate connexion with our
beina, and the great and excellent ends of it, The Sabbath and Man
wcret'in a manner, created together. This is an indication, that al-
though the particular time is, as it muft ncceiTarily be, of pohuve ap-
pointment, yet the thing itfelf is an article of natural rehgion,and itands
upon the reafon of things. The great end for which we are brought
into life, is to attain the knowledge, and to be confirmed in the love and
obedience of God ; which includes all right a&ion and v.rtue, all that
is perfedive of our nature, all that renders us happy in ourfelves, and a
1 blcfhnw
Ch. VI. ■*/ the Sabhath. 29
bleflino;to others ; and all that can qualify us for the enjoyment of God,
and fit~us for immortal honour and glory. We cannot keep a due and
prevailing fenfe of thefe things upon our mind<, without clofe and re-
peated application of thought; and therefore, as the affairs and neceffi-
ties of this prefent life make fuch conftant and importunate demands
upon us, that our hearts and thoughts would be unavoidably ingrafted
by them, it is in the nature of things neceJTary, that fome certain
time fhould be publickly appropriated to the exercifes of religion, in-
ftru&ion, prayer and praife, to fortify our minds againft temptations,
and to feafon them with piety and virtue. And doubtlefs, God alone
hath wifdom and authority fufficient to affign that portion of time
which is proper and generally competent for thofe good purpofes.
The Sabbath is perfectly fuited to our nature and circumftances, and
therefore was very properly inftituted at the creation. But fome of the
learned pretend, that Mofes here fpeaks, by anticipation, of the lniritu-*
tion of the Sabhath a long time after this, when he was law-giver in
Jfrael. This is a fiction without any foundation in the text. The hifto-
rian exprefsly relates, that God blefted and fanftihed that day on which-
he relied, or ceafed, from creation ; which, in all fair conftruclion, rnuft
be underftood of his fanctifying it, at the time when he refled from
creation. That we find no other mention of the Sabbath in the fum-
mary and very comprehenfive hiftory of Genejis, is no proof that the
Patriarchs did not obferve it ; much lefs that the law thereof was not all
that time in force. We find not the leaft mention, or intimation, of
the Sabbath in all the book of Jojhua, nor in Judges, Ruth, I Samuel,
II Samuel, I Kings, till we come to II Kings , iv. 23. a far more parti-,
cular hiftory than the book of Genejis; and yet it is very certain that-
the law of the Sabbath was all that time in force, and without doubt
was obferved too. There are very clear intimations of regard to the
Sabbath in the book of Gene/is, chap. viii. 8 — 13. Thrice Noah fent the
dove out of the ark, after he had every time waited (even days. Jaccb
(Gen. xxix. 27, 28.) fulfilled Leah's week. This plainly fhews the
Patriarchs, long before Mofes was born, reckoned time by /even dayst
or weeks; which can be referred to no other fuppofable original but
the inftitution of the Sabbath, at the creation.
The Ifraelites indeed, during their long continuance and fervitude in
Egypt, upwards of 200 years, feem to have loft their reckoning of the
Sabbath, when they were conftrained by perpetual and moft fervile la-
bour to neglecl: the obfervance of it. However, it certainly was the ap-t
pointment of God, that they fhould begin a new reckoning of the fe-
venth day, and form a new epocha, namely, the falling of the manna.
Exod. xvi. 5. And it Jb all come topafs on the Jixih day, they Jhall prepare
that manna which they bring in ; and it Jhall be twice as much as they gather
daily. And when the people had done fo, the rulers 0 J the congregation
came, and told Mofes ; probably inquiring into the reafon, why God had
given fuch an order, ver. 23. And Mo/a \ faid unto them, This is that which
the Lord hath faid, or, this is the meaning of the Divine Command §
To-morrow is the rejl of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Ver. 25, 26. Ye
Jhall not then find it in the field; Jix days Jhall ye gather it, but on the feventh
dayf which is the Sabbatb3 there Jhall be nme. And this courfe continued
foe
$o Of iht hjlhutiort Oi. V<«
for forty years, till they came into the land of Cahaam Now this was
deviled in much wifdom to fettle and determine the day, which, other-
wife, having loft their reckoning, during their long fervitude in Egypt,-
they poflibly would not eafiiy have been brought to agree upon. For
thus, for forty years together, they would be under a neceffity of di-
ftinguifhing the Sabbath, and of* reiling upon it; having li, tie elfe to
do, the greateft part of the time, but to gather and drefs manna ; and no
manna falling upon that day, they muft of courfe be afFured of the day,
and obliged to reft upon it. Note — the reftoring and ascertaining the
Sabbath, was the firft point of religion that was fettled, after the
children of lfracl came out of Egypt, as being of the greateft moment;
and this, in relation to the original inftitution ; for the law at mount
Sinai was not then given.
Afterwards the ordinance of the Sabbath was inferted into the body
of the moral law, under a particular emphafis, Remember the Sabbath-
Day to keep it holy. And the Jeiv is reminded ct~ the antiquity of this
initiation, in the reafon annexed to this commandment, For infix days
the Lord made heaven and earth, &c. And being thus ranked among the
other great articles of our duty, which are of moral obligation, and
are always referred and appealed to, by our Lord and his Apoftles, as
binding to us Chriftians, it muft ftand upon the fame ground, and lay
the fame obligations upon our confeiences. For the lame truth and
authority, which enacted the reft, enacted this precept alfo. He that
faid, Thou /hah have ?io other gods before me — thou Jhalt not boiu down t<t
any graven image — thou Jhalt not take the name of God in vain — honour thy
father — thou Jhalt do no murder — &c. faid alio, Remember the Sabbath-
Day to keep it holy.
The Jewifh feftivals, new-moons and fabbaths, as they were fhadows
and figures of good things to come under the Gofpel, our Lord did
abolifh. When the fubftance was come, the lhadow vanished. And
it is of fabbaths in this fenfe the Apoftle fpeaks, Col. ii. 16. Let no man
judge ycu in meat, or in drink, or in re/peel of a holy -day, or of the ?ieic-
mocn, or of the fabbath-days. But the feventh-day Sabbath was no part
of the Levitical law; it exifted long before that, and therefore was not
abolifhcd with it. On the contrary, our Lord claims dominion over
the Sabbath. Luke vi. 5. He faid unto the Phari fees, that the Son of A fan
is Lord alfo of the Sabbath. Therefore the Sabbath muft be an ordinance
belonging to our Lord's kingdom, otherwife he could not be Lord of it.
He never pretended to be Lord of circumcifion, or of facrifices ; thefe
belonged to a difpenfation of which he was not Lord. But he is Lord
df the Chriftian Difpenfation, and its ordinances, and among the reft,
of the" Sabbath. In confequence of which Lordfhip,
I. He rectified the fuperftitious abufe of the Sabbath, and reduced it
to the original ftandard. He reformed the traditionary corruptions of
feveral of the commandments of moral and eternal obligation (c). But
of all others, moft fignaliy,' remarkably, and conflantly, bywords and
by deeds, at the hazard of his life, he reformed the abufe of the fourth
commandment t
t
(0 Mat. v. 21, 27, 33. xv. 4, i$c.
Ch. VI. of the Sabbath. jl
commandment (d); which he never would have done, had the Sabbath
been an ordinance that was to die in a little time with the Jewifh dif-
penfacion. On the contrary, this demonftrates, that he regarded the
juft fan&ifkation of the Sabbath as of perpetual obligation, and as of
very great importance in religion.
II. He removed the Sabbath from the feventh to the firft day of the
week. For we find in the Apoftolic Hiftpry that the Difciples met to-
gether on that day, (called the Lord's Day, Rev. i. 10.) to break bread,
or to celebrate the Lord's Supper, which is the proper and peculiar
worfhip of Chriftians, Ads xx. 7. Now this could not be done without
the exprefs injunction of the Apoftles; nor could the Apoftjes do this
without a commiflion from Chrift. And as our Lord rofe from the
dead on the fiift day, we fuppofe the Chriftian Sabbath hath relation to
his Refurre&ion ; and fo the Lord's Day hath been kept holy by the
univerfal Church from the Apoftles days to this time.
Thus there have been three epochas, or dates-, from which the Sabbath
has been counted, namely, (1.) From the firft day of the creation*
(2.) From the firft day of the falling of the manv.a. (3.) From the Rrii.
day of the Gofpel Difpenfation. But frill it is the Lventh day makes
the Sabbath, which God blened; and the feventh, which we now ob-
ferve, is as much, and as truly the Sabbath, which God fanctified, as
ever it was from the beginning of the world.
The primary notion of the Sabbath, is a reft or c.tffa'tion from the
ordinary bufinefs of life. The defign of it is to preferre true religion ;
which would never have been loft in the world, had thqj^bbath been
duly obferved from the firft inftitution of it. And therefore we find in
Scripture, both under the old and new difpenfations, it was applied to
the purpofes of religion. It is reprefented as a holy convocation, on
which the Ifraeliics were to alTemble for divine worfhip, Lev, xxiii. 3;
David wrote the 926 Pfalm for the Sabbath-Day, and therein gives us
jult ideas of the work of it. On this day the jews met together in
their fynagogues for religious exerciiis; and there our Lord honoured
and fanc~r.ified the Sabbath by his prefence and instructions. Mark i. 2r,
22. vi. 2. Luke iv. 16, 31. xiii. jo. And all Chrifiians, in ail times
and places, have afiembled on the Sabbath to hear the woid of God, to
offer up prayer and thankfgiving, and to celebrate the Lord's Supper,
in order to employ their .thoughts in pious meditations, an<ifurnifh
their minds With, the beft principles and difpofitions. A ,work ex-
ceeding pleafant and .profitable, which demands and deferves the whole
of our thought and attention. Therefore, for this good purpofej we are
to reft from ordinary bufinefs, and to avoid whatever may diflipateour
thoughts, or ir.difpufe our hearts for the heavenly work of the day.
Our Lord hath taught us fo to underftand this, as not to mix any thing
fuperftitious with the obfervation of the Sabbath, nor to conceive of it
as fuch a fcrupulous reft, that we may not do any thing fit and reafon-
able, and which otherwife is a duty; works of necefiity and mercy he
exprefsly allows. Whatever cannot be deferred to another day, without
lofs
(a) See Mat. xii. 1 — iz. Luke vi. 10, it. xiii. 1 1 — 17. xiv. 1 — 7.
John v. 9 — 19. vii. 19 — z$. ix. 14, 15, 16.
3* Cf the Tnji'itutton of {he Sahbath* Ch. Vl.
lofs or damage, may be taken care of on the Sabbath, And in general
he hath pronounced, That the Sabbath (alluding probably to the fir ft
inftitution of it) was made for man, to be fubfervient to his virtue and
happinefs ; not man for the Sabbath. Man was made for duties of
moral and eternal obligation, and is bound to obferve thtrm in what-
ever extremity or neceffity he maybe; but man is not made for the
rigorous obfervation of the fabbatical reft, or any other pofitive infti-
tution, fo as thereby to embarrafs or diftrefs his life^ or to negleclrany
opportunity of doing good.
I conclude with a few reflections upon Ifai. lviii. 13, 14. Having, in
the name of God, recommended goodnefs, charity, and compaflion, in
the preceding verfes, and pronounced a fingular bleffing upon thofe who
cxercife them, the Prophet adds, by the fame authority, If thou turn
sway thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pkafure on my holy day. q. d.
** If you confeientioufiy fufpend the ordinary bufinefs of life, and forbear
" to pleafe and gratify your own inclinations, that with a free and com-
■" pofod mind you may attend upon the fervices of religion, for which I
*c have fanctihed the Sabbath ; and[_\f thou] call the Sabbath a delight, the
*c holy of the Lord, honourable, andf halt honour him; if you have fuch a fenfe
M of the excellency and benefit of the Sabbath, that you take delight
44 therein, accounting it a pleafure and happinefs, as being confecrated
•c to the worfhipof themofthi^hGod, andtherefore honourable andglo-
c« rious in itfelf ; and honourable alfo to you, as it is a mark of the dig-
44 nity of your nature, a token of your intereft in the divine favour,
44 (£.Wxxxi. 13. Ezek. xx. 12.) and of your being admitted to com-
44 munion with him ; if in this perfuafion you fhall fincerely endeavour
44 to honour God by employing the day in the offices of devotion, vot
44 doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own p'eafure, nor fpeaking thine
*' cwnwords; not doing the ordinary works of your calling, nor fpend-
•*■ incr the time in amufements or diverfions, or in impertinent convcrfa-
44 tion ; then/halt thou delight thyfelfinthe Lord; then thou (halt become
44 fuch a proficient in piety, and gain fuch a fenfe of God and religion,
M as will eftablifh in your heart a fund of holy pleafure, comfort, joy,
44 and good hope towards God." The Prophet, in this chapter, is in-
culcating real, vital, acceptable religion, goodnefs and compaflion to
©ur fellow-creatures, and piety towards God in keeping the Sabbath ;
prcmifin.g the like bltffings to both thofe branches of true religion,
namely, the favour of God and the conftant care of his Providence^
We may therefore take this from the Spirit of God, as a juft defcrip-
tion of the right manner of fandtifying the Sabbath, and aflure our-
fclves, that he who bieffed the Day, will blefs us in keeping it holy.
CHAP. VII.
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C H. V I r . 0/ a State of Trial. 33
CHAP. VII.
Of a State j/Trial.
Gen. ii. 8—18.
CONCERNING the fituation and rivers, of the country of Eden,
as here defcribed by Mofcs, Bp. Patrick, in his Commentary
upon this place, gives an account which feems to be not altogether
improbable. The Garden lay in the country of Eden ; out of or through,
which country a river went unto the Garden to water it (yer. 1 1.) ; and
from thence, from the country of Eden, it parted, or was divided, and
became into four heads; namely, two above, before it entered Eden,
called Euphrates and Hiddekel, or Tigris ; and two below, after it had
parted through Eden, called Pi/on and Gihon, which compajfeth, or run-
neth along by, the whole landofCuJh. ver. 13.
In the eaftern part of Eden the Lord God planted a Garden furnifhed
with all pleafant and ufeful fruits. And there he placed Adam to drefs
and keep it; for man was made for bufinefs, ver. 8, 15. Two trees in
this Garden were remarkably diftinguifhed from the reft, perhaps in ap-
pearance and fituation, as well as in ufe, namely, the Tree of Life, and
the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thefe, I conceive, were ap-
pointed for inftru&ion and religious meditation; to preferve in Adam's
mind a fenfe of the confequences of virtue and vice, or of obedience
and difobodience. In this view, while he continued obedient, he was
allowed to eat of the Tree of Life, as a pledge and aflurance on the part
of God, that he fhould live for ever, or be immortal ; after his tranf-
grefiion he was denied accefs to it, chap. iii. 24. For the fame
purpofe, as a pledge of immortality reftored in Chrifr, it is ufed,
Rev. ii. 7. xxii. 2. On the contrary, the other Tree was defigned
to give him the knowledge, the fenfe or apprehenfion of good and evi^
or of good connected with evil, i. e. of pernicious enjoyment, deftruc-
tive gratification, vicious pleafure, or fuch as cannot be enjoyed with-
out tranfgreffing the law of God. Good and Evil, I apprehend, is an
hendiadys, like that Gen. xix. 24. brim/lone and fire, i. e. fired or burn-
ing briinftone. j Chron. xxii. 5. the houfe mujl be — of fame and glory,
i. e. of glorious fame. Pateris libamus et aura, i. e. aureis pateris.
3TD may fignify pleafure or profit. [See the explication of it in the
Heb. Engl. Concordance.] Thus Good and Evil may denote pernicious
pleafure or profit. Of the fruit of this Tree, though it appeared
pleafant and inviting, Adam was forbidden to eat upon pain of death.
This was to make him underftand, that unlawful enjoyment of any
kind would be his deftruftion.
Thefe two Trees may be confidered as Adains books. He was in a
kind of infantile ftate, void of all learning, without any theorems or ge-
neral principles to govern himfelf by. God was therefore pleafed, in
this fenfible manner, to imprefs upon his mind juft conceptions of the
very different confequences of obedience and difobedience. And it will
Vol. I. C be
54 Of a State of Trial. Ch. VII.
be of great ufc even to us, at this day, to look into, and to meditate
upon thefe two books of our fir!!: father.
What requires our particular attention is this, that Adam's obedience
is put upon Trial by the prohibition, ver. ij. But of the Tree of Know-
ledge of Good and Evil, thou /ba/t not eat of it ; for in the day that thou
eateft thereof, thou Jhalt furely die. Adam had not gained the habits of
obedience and holinefs, but was put under this inftance of difcipline in
order to his acquiring of them. As foon as God had made Man a mo-
ral agent, he put him upon Trial. And it is univerfally allowed, that
all mankind are in the fame ftate, in a State of Trial. It muff, there-
fore be of importance to have right notions of fuch a State.
In order to this, let it be well confidered,
I. That God hath eretlcd a kingdom for his honour, and the felicity of his
rational creatures. This kingdom, our Lord informs us, was prepared
from the foundation of the world. Mat. xxv. 34. There we men fhall be
equal to the angels, Luke xx. 36; and probably, like them, fhall be
placed in pofts of honour and power, in Come part of the univerfe; as
is plainly intimated, Mat. xxiv. 45 — 47. xxv. 21. Luke xix. 17.
I Cor. vi. 2, 3. Rev. ii. 10. iii. 21.
II. JVithout holinefs, or an habitual fubje^f ion of the Will to Reafon, or to
the Will of God, none can be fit to be numbers of this kingdom. Wicked nefs,
in its very nature, ftands direc"Uy oppofed to the peace and well-being
of the univcrfe ; for it is error in the mind, rebellion againft God, and
mifchief to all within its influence. And the moil benevolent of all
Beings will not take error, rebellion, and mifchief into his kingdom,
erected for the purpofes of goodnefs and enjoyment. Rev. xxi. 27. And
there foallin no wife enter into it, the holy City, new Jerufalem, (ver. 2.)
any thing that defileth} any impure, vicious perfons ; neither whatfoover
worksth abomination, or maketh a lie; all idolaters, all that prac/tile ini-
quity and deceit, are excluded out of it. But they foall bring the glory and
honour of the nations into it ; the excellent of the earth, who have purged
themfelves from all ungodlinefs and fin, and fo are Veffels unto honour,
fanclified and fit for the Mafter' s ufc, a?:d prepared unto every good work.
Nothing but fubje&ion to the Will of God, in all duty and obedience,
can qualify us for the honours, felicity, and employments of the king-
dom of heaven. Therefore,
III. No moral agents, merely on account of their natural powers, how ex-
cellent foever, are worthy to be admitted into the kingdom of God. Natural
powers, in angels as well as worms, are the workmanfhip and gift of
God alone ; and therefore, not being the virtue, nor the effect of the
virtue of the beings that are pollefled of them, can be no recommenda-
tion to the continued favour and efteem of God. In order to that, the
natural powers of moral Agents muft not only be capable of right ac-
tion, but alio actually exerted in ading rightly. Otherwife, their powers,
though of the nobleft kind, are ufelefs and infignificant. It is one thing
to be born, or produced into the kingdom of nature, and another to be
born to the habits of virtue, whereby we are rendered fit to be admitted
into the kingdom of heaven. The former depends entirely upon God's
fovereign pleafure, in giving life and powers, in any kind or degree, as
he choofeth ; the other depends upon a right ufe and application of the
powers
Ch. VII. Of a State of Trial. 35
powers God hath bellowed ; and is the privilege only of thofe wife and
happy fpirits, who attain to a habit of true hofinefs. And thus, our
Lord's rule, Job. iii. 3. Except a man be born again, he cannot fee , or en-
joy, the kingdom of God, may extend to all created minds, whatfoever,
under their feveral peculiar ci re um (ranees.
IV. Holinefs, or virtue, cannot be forced upon us whether we will or not.
The violence which overpowers and compels the Will, deftroys the
Will or Choice, and confequently deftroys Virtue; which is no other-
wife Virtue, than as it is freely chofen. That being which cannot be
vicious, cannot be virtuous. If he is not free to choofe evil, he is not
free to choofe good ; for a power of being virtuous, neceffarily implies a
power of being the contrary. The only means, therefore, that can be
ufed to induce a moral Agent to Virtue, are inftruclion, admonition,
perfuafion, the imprefllon of objedts or circumfiances upon the mind,
the fuggeftions of the Spirit of God, and fuch like methods as engage
attention, and influence inclination and choice, without deftroying Free-
dom. Aad 2. habit of Virtue, which 2lone recommends us to God, can
be gained and afcertained no otherwife than by repeated A£ts, by ufe
and exercife, by being put to the proof under proper Trials, by refilling
folicitations, furmounting difficulties, and bearing fufferings. This is
the moil natural way of bringing Virtue, or Holinefs, to its maturity
and (lability. Therefore,
V. It fecms agreeable to the reafon of things, that all rational creatures
whatjoever fhould, for fome time, be in a State of Trial. However, this is,
or hath been, the cafe of all we are acquainted with. The Angels have
palled through a probation, doubtlefs adapted to their different circum-
fiances; in which fome of them abode net in the truth', they finned; they
kept not their fir Ji cfate ; Joh. viii. 44. 2 Pet. ii. 4. Jude 6. And our firit
parents, how lingular foever their condition might be in other refpects,
were put under a particular Trial, by being forbidden to eat of the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil ; which muft be intended to form their
minds to an habitual obedience to the Law, or Will, of God.
VI. We Men are upon Trial. This is evident from Revelation, where
we are reprefented as Pilgrims and Strangers, looking for, and travelling
to a better country, 1 Pet. ii. n. — As in a warfare, where we muft
fight for the victory, as we hope to be crowned, Ephef. vi. 14. — As
in a race, where we are running for a prize, Heb. xii. I. I. Cor. ix. 24,
25.— As labourers in a vineyard, who have work to do in order to re-
ceive wages, Mat.xx. 1, — As fervants intruded with their mailer's
fubftance, for the improvement of which they are accountable to him,
Mat. xxv. 14. Luke xix. 13. And God hath appointed a day, in which,
he will call us to an account for our prefent behaviour, and render to
every man according to what he hath done in the body, whether it be
good or evil. This is the llrongefc evidence, that we are now upoa
Trial. And the fenfe of Revelation is abundantly confirmed by our
circumfiances in life.
Our faculties are of the noblefi kind, and we enjoy all manner of
means for the cultivation of them ; but not without great care, induf-
try, and refolution. So many are the occafions of deception, and fo
eafily are we milled in our fearches after the truth, that we cannot attain
C 2 to
36 Of a State of Trial. Ch. Vll.
to any clear or ufeful knowledge without a conftant and cautious atten-
tion. Even Revelation, like the heavens themfelves, is interfperfed with
clouds, things dark and hard to be underftood. And when we have
found the truth, the profefilon of it is attended with much inconvenience
and trouble from the pride and malice of perfccution. All which is
wifely appointed ; for, had all been plain, obvious, and eafy, our inte-
grity and fincere attachment to truth could not have been exercifed and
proved. The paflions and appetites of the flefh ; the polTeflions, gains,
pleafures, and cuftoms of the world ; the calamities of life, difeafes, dis-
appointments, lofles, dangers, enemies, fears, wants, weaknefs ; all
thefe are great embarralTments fio virtue and piety, fatigue and folicit our
minds from righteoufnefs and purity, and oblige us to conftant watch-
fulnefs and felf-denial, in order to gain and fecure the habits of holinefs.
Every condition, every poiTeiTion is accompanied with its temptations.
Wherever we are, we are in the midft of fnares ; and whatever we have
carries fome danger or other in it; infomuch that, without care and at-
tention, we cannot preferve the purity of our minds, which yet, by the
nature of things, and the command of God, we are obliged to do. This
fliews we are upon Trial, or in a ftate of difcipline. For,
VII. A State of Trial necefj'arily requires, that different and oppofite inte-
rejls (as the flefh and the fpirit, the law of God, and the law in our
members, the prefent world, and a future ftate) fijould fo Jland in compe-
tition for cur affections and regards, as to oblige us to be very ferious in confider-
ing, and thoroughly fincere in chooftng and purfuing what is right and good.
And herein lies our Trial ; whether we will follow God, or forfake him ;
prefer our mortal bodies before our immortal foals; the ■gratification of
our lufts, before the purity and peace of our minds; the things of this
tranfitory world, before the heavenly and eternal inheritance.
VIII. The end and defign of 'our Trial is to refine and exalt our nature.
James i. 12. Bleffed is the man that worthily en.iw eth temptation ; for when
he is tried, he (hall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promifed to
them that love him. Heb. xii. 11. No chaftening for the prefent is joyous, but
grievous; neverthelcfs, Sec. If indeed we are overcome by temptation,
and drawn into a contempt of God, truth, and righteoufnefs, we debafe
and deftroy ourfelves ; we prove ourfelves to be unfit for the happy fo-
ciety in heaven, forfeit the favour of God, and fhall fall into perdition.
But this mtsft be our own fault. The noble intention of our Maker is,
that we mould overcome temptation, and then we are happy for ever.
We have flood the teft, we have pafled honourably through our Trials ;
we have approved ourfelves to God, as thole whom he judges fit for
preferment and happinefs in his eternal kingdom. And fhortly we (hall
hear, Well done, good and faithful, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
Hence our Trial is compared fo that of filver and gold, Job xxiii. IO.
Pfal. lxvi. jo, 11. 1 Pet. i. 6, 7.
To explain Scripture language, we muft diftinguifh between tempta-
tion of Trial, and Seduction. Temptation of Trial, or probation, God
hath wifely ordained for the exercife and proof of our virtue. So he
tempted Abraham, Gen. xxii. 1. Temptation of feduclion is when we
are drawn into fin, James i. 13. L.t no man fay , when he is tempted, fe-
tiuced into fin by temptation.
From
Ch. VII. Of a State of Tria\ 37
From the preceding proportions we may draw the following con-
clufions.
CoroL. T. Trials, of the fever eft kind, are no mark of God's difpleafure,
nor any proof that we are wider bis wrath and curfe. Adam in his ft ate of
innocence was tried. The beft of God's fervants have gone through
heavy Trials. Our Lord was tempted in all points as we are, but without
fn, Heb. iv. 15. Myfon, defpife not the chaftening of the Lord ; neither be
weary of his correclion. For whom the Lord loveth, he correcleth \ even as a
father the fon in whom he delighleth. Prov. iii. 11, 12.
Corol. 2. The appetites and pajjions implanted in our confitution, are
not the corruption of our nature, but means of our Trial. And therefore we
ihall be freed from them, when that is over, 1 Cor. vi, 13. Meats for the
belly, and the belly for meats but Gcdfhall dejlroy both it and them — —
xv. 44. It is fown an animal body, it is raifed a fpiritual body.
Corol. 3. Whatever Trials may be the occajion of fin, may much more be
the occafion of virtue and holinefs . Temptation may occafion fin, but is
not the cauje or reafon of it ; for, feeing no temptation can ever make
it reafonable to fin, every temptation, if the finner choofeth, may be re-
jected as unreafonable. On the other hand, temptation is naturally an
opportunity of exerting our virtue, and of gaining an honourable and
glorious victory. Diftreffes and wants may fill our hearts with folici-
tude, and tempt us to murmur againft God ; but they have a tendency,
being duly confidered, to lead us to faith in him, and a humble patient
fubmiflion to his will, the mod perfect part of a worthy character.
Wealth, honour, and power, may prove incentives to pride, luxury,
and oppreflion ; but they may, and ought to be motives to gratitude,
and means of greater ufefulnefs. Our appetites and pafiions may fe-
duce to intemperance and debauchery; but they may be the occafion of
pra£tifing the moft laudable felf-government and fobriety. And fo of
all the reft. Rom. v. 3. We glory in tribulations ; knowing that tribulation
worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, that hope
which maketb not afhamed, or that (hall never be difappointed. fames i. 2.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into temptations ; knowing that
the Trial of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have its perfeel
work, that ye may be perfeel and entire, wanting nothing to qualify you for
the kingdom of heaven.
Corol. 4. In a State of Trial natural evil hath a tendency to promote mo-
ral good. For under any defects of happinefs, virtue may be exercifed
and increafe. Hence it follows, (1.) That this life, notwithftanding the
afflictions which attend it, is a day of falvation, or a proper and valuable
opportunity of attaining eternal life. (2) That the quantity of virtue
in this prefent world is not to be meafured by the joy it giveth the pof-
feflor, or the good it doth to others, but by the circumftances of Trial
under which it adteth and fubfifteth. For although all holinefs, by the
will of God, will fooner or later be crowned with joy; and always actu-
ally brings forth good works, in proportion to the agent's power and
opportunities; yet two agents, of equal virtue, may be fo differently
fituated in the creation, that the virtue of the one fhall produce a thou-
fand tiroes lefs comfort to its felf, and benefit to others, than the virtue
pf the other. Or, the fame virtue which, in this life, brings forth but,.
C 3 one
38 Of a State of Trial. Ch . V 1 1 .
one degree of joy and ufefulnefs, in another world may bring forth a
thoufand degrees.
This ftands upon two principles. 1. That holinefs and happinefs arc
efTentially different, and connected only by the will of God. Hence it
is, in facl, that many perfons, truly virtuous and pious, have yet no
comfort of their virtue. 2. The proper ac~t of a moral agent ftands
in the will and choice alone, not in the external efredr. produced by it;
and therefore the will, or choice, may be completely holy, where yet
the outward act is hindered by contrary circumitances. Upon thefe
grounds one may venture to affirm, that the virtue of Lazarus, which,
under all his pains and poverty in our earth, brought forth but a fmall
degree of joy and ufefulnefs, might, in Abrahams bofom, be equal to
the viitueof an Angel in heaven, which actually brought forth ten
thoufand degrees. For as a cubical foot of our grofier air might pof-
fibly expand, and fill a cubical furlong in the higher and thinner re-
gion of pure Ether; fo that virtue, which can fubfift under the loads
and clogs of our temptations and difficulties, though its prefent fruits
are but fmall, may dilate and blaze out into a glory, magnificence, and
fplendour, equal to that of the holieft Angels. This the Apoftie Peter
intimates, 1 Pet. i. 7. The tried faith of perfecuted Saints will be found
unto praife, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jefus Chrift.
CoROL. 5. This world is not a State of Enjoyment. He that made it,
and Man in it, niade it for Trial. We muft not therefore dream of a
continued courfe of eafe, peace, and profperity, but muft expect to meet
with Trials.
Corol. 6. // is no matter in what temporal circumftances we are, if we
do but acquit our f elves w.ll and faithfully in the fight of God. Job, under
all his calamities, was not a worie man, or lefs the care and delight of
Heaven. He was then like gold in the furnace, under the difcipline of
Divine Wifdom and Love, in order to his being purified into a condi-
tion more illuftrious and excellent. You are in plenty and profperity.
What then ? This is but an inftance of your Trial, and your real hap-
pinefs muft be meafiired by the effects they have upon your mind. If
pjofperity difpofes to thankfulnefs and good works, it is happy; but if
it feduceth you to forget God, and to indulge irregular appetites, it is
hurtful and pernicious. On the other hand, you are in affliction, want,
trouble, pain. What then? This is not your fixed condition; it is
Qftly one inftance of a temporary Trial, which fhortly will be at an end.
And if your afflictions work in you greater contempt of the world, felf-
denial, faith, fubmiffion, heavenly-mindednefs, &c. your condition is
happy, and your afflictions are really better for you than any other
State you may fondly wifh for. But obferve, this is to be underftood
of afflictions brought upon us by Providence, and will not juftify us
in bringing them upon ourfelves by any faulty criminal conduct. It
is neveithelefs our duty, by all lawful means, to procure the conve-
nuncics and comforts of life,
CHAP. VIII.
C H . V 1 1 1 . Of a Stale of trial. &
CHAP. VIII.
Further Reflexion; on a State of Trial.
IT is of the laft importance to have right notions of life, as a State
of Trial. For thus the whole fcene, otherwise confufed and un-
accountable, will appear in a jull and rational light. Thus we Ihall
be convinced, that our being is given us upon the moil reafonablc
and advantageous terms, for the higheft and moft excellent ends ; and
fhall clearly undcrftand what we have to do for the improvement and
exaltation of it, free from the vain imaginations and purfuits, hopes
and fears, joys and anxieties, which diffract the minds of the unthink-
ing and ignorant. What 1 have further to advance upon this point, is
comprifed in the following proportions.
I. It is a matter of great difficulty to adju/I cur Trials and fuccours, fo as
not to overpower our faculties by either, but leave us in the free life of
(hem.
II. God alone hath wifdom fufficient to appoint and adjufl our Trials. Be-
caufe he alone underffands perfectly how to adapt them to the nature of
our minds, and to the defigns oi his goodnefs. Whereas we know but
little of the nature of our fpirits, and therefore are not able to propor-
tion temptations to our powers, nor helps and affiftances to our tempta-
tions. We are not acquainted with the work we have to do in the fu-
ture world, nor the feveral forts of beings with whom we may hereafter
be concerned, in the way of feliowfhip or enmity ; and therefore are by
no means capable of judging, what fort or degree of Trials are proper
to give us fuitable qualifications. For this reafon, it is plainly our duty
and wifdom, humbly and patiently to fubmit to the Trials God is
pleafed to allot, and to behave wt:\\ ;.nd faithfully under them; without
cenfuring, or quarrelling with his difpofals, which is fool ifh and im-
pious. But though our understandings in this cafe are very defective,
yet I conceive there are fome general principles of which we may be,
in a good meafure, certain. Afip
III. The bias of Evil in our Trials ought to be flrong it: proportion to thi
degree of virtue required of us. For the degree of virtue is to be mea-
fured by the degree of temptation which it relifts. That virtue is but
in a low degree, which can overcome but a fmall temptation; that
virtue is in a higher, which can overcome a ftronger temptation ;
and that virtue is in the higheft degree, which is fuperior to all temp-
tation.
IV. The degree of Virtue God expccls from us, is to be proportioned to the
eminent flations to which we are to be exalted in his kingdom. Or, we {hall
be exalted in proportion to the Virtue we have attained. Mat. xix. 28.
Luke xix. 16, 17, 18, 19.
V. Our Trial feems to be appointed for a State of Confirmation and
therefore the virtue we are to attain muft be fuch as will ftcure cur per-
feverance in it j which confirmation and perfeverance muft ftand, not
C 4 upon
40 Of a State of Trial.' Ch. VIII.
upon our being forcibly conftrained to be virtuous, which is a contra-
diction, but upon the habits we have attained, or the fettled good difpo-
fitions of our minds. And it feems to be the great end of our Trial in
this world, that we may attain to fuch a degree of fan&ity, experienced
in a variety of Trials, as in God's wifdom appears to be of that genuine
fort, which fhall eventually perfevere, and abide to all eternity. Of
which matter our Lord fpeaketh in this wife, Lukexvu IO, II, 12. He
that is faithful in that which is leaf, is faithful aljo in much ; and he that is
unjufi in the leaf, is unjufl alfo in much, if ye therefore have been unfaith-
ful in the unrighteous mammon, ivho will commit to your trufi the true riches ?
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, i. e. that
which may at any uncertain time be taken from you, and therefore, for
the fake of which it is not worth your while to do a wrong or wicked
thing, who fhall give you that which is your own * ? what you are to pof-
fefs for ever, or which you are never to be deprived of. This plainly
{hews, that we are qualified for honours and trufts in heaven, no other-
wife than by our prefent faithfulnefs, or the real good qualities of our
minds ; and that we are now tried in a little, that we may be faithful
in much.
VI. The fudge of all the Earth hath certainly balanced our Trials with
the greatefl exaftnefs and equity, that temptation may not be too violent for
our weaknefs, and yet ftrong enough to put our virtue to its proper proof.
Flefhly luits war againft the foul, but arc conquered effectually by tem-
perance, or keeping our bodies in fubje&ion. The world allures our
minds ; but the world of glory is open to full view, to draw our regards
thither. If the devil r.nd his angels are permitted to practife his malice
in perverting mankind, God hath fent forth a holy and powerful Spirit
to illuminate, fan&ify, ftrengthen, and comfort; and hath ordered his
Angels, in great numbers, to be miniftring Spirits^o the Heirs of Sal-
vation. We may allure ourfelves, that we are upon a fair, and even fa-
vourable, Trial ; for, if we do not neglect our advantages, the means of
fecuring our virtue, if we choofe to be virtuous, do far furpafs the occa-
fion of vice and fin; and in all our conflicts more are with us, than
are againft us ; God is with us.
VII. Our Condition is zvell adapted to the purpofes of moral Improvement.
If we confider life as a State of Enjoyment, all is in confufion and dis-
order, and we are cafily milled into the moft foul and fatal errors ; but
if we take life as a Trial, for the exercife of our virtue, in order to our
future advancement, then every part of it will appear to be properly ap-
pointed. We have every day opportunities of fhewing our fincere re-
gards to Gody by giving him the preference to the many appetites and
objects which court our affections, and come in competition with him.
Nimium vobis Romana propago
Vifa potens, fuperi, propria [perpetua] h«ec ft dona fuifTent.
uEncid. vi. lin. 870.
Nihilnc effe proprium [perpefuum] cuiquam ?
Ter. 4ndr. A&.. iv. Seen. 3. lin. 1.
Omne quod habemus, aut mutuum eft, aut proprium.
Donat. in locum.
Ch. VIII. Of ^ State of Trial 41
We have opportunities enough to learn what is fufficient for us to know.
And the obfcurities and difficulties in the way of truth, are not deligned
to debar us from it, but to exercife our integrity in our fearehes after it,
and profeifion of it. All the calamities of life, pains of body, infirmi-
ties, feducements, lofTes, &c. are occafions of purifying our hearts, by
fobriety, humility, repentance, felf-denial, patience, &c. And for
focial virtues, we cannot fuppofe ourfelves in any fituation, where we
fhould have more occafions, or more preiling motives to exercife every
fpecies of benevolence towards our fellow-creatures. And if our love
to men muft furmount both felf-love, that deceitful principle in our-
felve-, and ingratitude, that ugly vice in others, hereby we are obliged
to exercife, in the raoft generous, difinterefted, and godlike manner, a
virtue of the firfl rank, and the moll neceflary to preferment in God's
creation. For he is the fittefr. for bufinefs and truft, under the univerfal
Father, who mod of all participates of his kind difpofitions and good-
will towards the whole univerfe of beings.
VIII. Different pcrfons, as they have different capacities, advantages*
and opportunities, and are in different circumjiances, conditions, and fitua-
tions, are under different Trials. Mat xxv. 15. Luke xii. 47,48.
IX. God allots to every particular perfon his Trial. He gives our capa-
cities and opportunities, afligns our circumftances and outward condi-r
tion, and meafures our afflictions and comforts. Therefore, whatever
our Trials may be, this fhould calm our uneafy minds, that they are
meted out to us by the fame wife Hand which created and governs
univerfal Nature.
X. Every one will be judged, and receive reward or punijhment according
to the circumjiances of his own particular Trial; and all things relating to
it, all advantages and difadvantages, will be weighed in the exacteffc
balance, and determined accordingly. Luke xii. 47,48. Tliat fervant
which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himfelf, neither did according
to his will, foall be beaten with manyjir'tpes. But he that was in different
circumftances, and knew not, and did commit things worthy of Jlripes,
jhall be beaten with few Jlripes. Here obferve, that God fully under-
ftands the degrees of the guilt, or virtue of particular perfonsj but
we do not, and therefore fhould be cautious in judging.
XI. There are degrees of Trial; or temptation may be more or Iefs
intenfe. The fufferings of the flefh may be raifed to fuch an height
of anguifh and terror, or its paffions fo inflamed, as to fufpend the ufe
of thought and reafon.
XII. God can raife or fink our Trial as he pleafes. When he fees fit,
he can give a calm and quiet ftate ; and when he pleafeth can raife
ftorms about us, and heat the furnace of temptation feven times more
than it was wont to be heated. Job, in his Trial by profperity, ac-
quitted himfelf well ; and under great pains and poverty, he finned not,
nor charged God foolifhly. But at length, through the unkind ufage
of his friends, and perhaps fome other concurring circumftances, his
Trial began to be fo hard, that he opened his mouth, and curfed his
day. Whenever the Almighty pleafeth, he can permit a Trial that
will fhake the ftrongeft faith. Therefore,
XIII. No good refolutions or difpofitions ■> no degrees of fpiritualjirengih to
which
42 Of a State of Trial Ch. VIII.
which we have attained, is an abfolute fccurity, that we Jhafl be for the fu-
ture Jleidf aft and immoveable. New, or fudden Trials, ftronger than any
we h ;ve hitherto met with, may Blake and ftagger the ihHliiy of our
minds. Let no man imagine, thfi his former victories wil] exempt him
from a poflioility of falling. It Is the will of God, that every man.
the bfcft of men,' in this State, fhould be under a conftant neceflity of
watchin^ Wherefore, let us take unto curf elves the whole armour of God,
that we may be able to withjland in the evil day, and having done, or over-
come, alttofand. Eph. vi. 13.
XIV. All Trial is attended with danger. And therefore fome, if not
many, in a State of Trial, may fall into perdition ; as wicked angels
and men.
XV. Our danger is not from God, but from ourfelves. God tempt eth,
or feduceth into fin, no man, Jam. i. 13, 14^15. for tms very good
reafon, becaufe he cannot himfelf be tempted with evil, fuch is his ab-
horrence and deteftation of it; and therefore cannot be inclined to
draw any of his creatures into the practice of it. But every man is
tempted, when he is drawn away from righteoufnefs, by his own lufl, and
enticed to commit fin.
XVI. All temptation is vincible to thofe that are willing to overcome.
See Prop. VI. All the admonitions, exhortations, encouragements
in Scripture, fuppofe and fupport the truth of this propofition.
XVII. We are victorious over temptation, net by cur own power, but by
the grace and power of God. Even when the fpirit is tuilling, the Jlejh is
weak. Mark xiv. 38. We are indeed under the higheft obligations to
ufe faithfully the powers we have already received, and no otherwife
may we hope to be fuperior to temptation : but it is not our own wif-
dom or ftrength that can preferve and uphold us; for we are diie&ed in
Revelation to trufr in God, and to feek unto him for fuccour and deliver-
ance ; which would be impertinent, were we fufRcient to ourfelves.
Why fhould we afk help, when we do not want it ? God alone is able
to keep us from falling, and to Jlablifh us in every good work. Jude 24.
2 Thefl. ii. 16, 17.° And we are abundantly aifured, that he will give
ftrength in proportion to our Trials, and our faithful endeavours; and
that cur future honours will be great in proportion to the prefent greater
Trials we have furmounted. If we have overcome much, we mall en-
joy much. For, obferve, the fuccours of Divine Grace do not dimi-
nish the quantity of our virtue, or reward. Whatever helps our infir-
mity may require, our virtue is meafured by our own fincere defires and
endeavouis, to which the Divine Aid is proportioned. So that, in
moral construction, it is all one as if we had overcome in our own
ftrength.
XVIII. The means of conquering Temptation, on our part, are Watching
and Prayer. Mark xiv. 38. IVatch and pray, that ye enter not into tempta-
tion. (1.) Watch. Benotfecure; expect temptation, and be fenhble
of the danger of it, the greateft of all dangers, the lofs of the foul. Be
not confident of your own ftrength. Keep out of the way of tempta-
tion. Avoid every fnare thr.t may intangle your minds. Indulge to no
dangerous liberties; make no uncautious approaches towards folly and
fin.° That may be affected by flow degrees, which a man would never
at
Ch. IX. Of the Difpenfation, cffr. 45
at firft have confented to be guilty of. He that fears falling down a pre-
cipice, will be fure not to come near it; and he that would extinguish
the fire, fhould withdraw the fuel. Keep thy heart with all diligence ;
reject every finful thought and fuggeftion. Keep the body in fubjedlioii
to reafon and religion by fclf-denial and abftinence. Beware of an un-
due attachment to the world. Your life and treafure is in heaven ; and
there let your hearts be. Let the word of God dwell in vou richly by
daily meditation. PfeiL cxix. n. Thy word have I hid in mine heart.,
that I might not Jin againjl thee. (2.) Pray. Not that we may be totally
exempted from temptation ; for we came into the world for this very
end, that we might be tried and tempted. We cannot reafonably ex-
peel: that God, in our favour, fhould alter theconftitutionof the world,
or of the human nature ; but we fhould pray, that God would order
our Trials in fuch manner as will beft promote the purity and pro-
bity of our lives. Prov. xxx. 8, 9. Remove far from me vanity and lies ;
give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with food convenient for me, Sec.
The wife man doth not prefcribe any condition that did not belong to
him ; but, in general, is defirous of that fituation in life which God
faw would be molt favourable to his piety and integrity. Lead us net,
fuffer us not to enter, into temptation, i. e. fuffer us not to fall under the
power and prevalence of temptation. The example of our Lord is of
the greateft force to direct and animate us in our conflicts ; he took upon
him our nature, and went through all our Trials, on purpofe to fhew
us how to behave under them; and to aflure us that, imitating his
example, we (hall at length be partakers of his glory. And thus by his
perfedt obedience, his obedience unto death, a facriflce highly pleafing to
God, he recovered that life and immortality which Adam forfeited
by his dif obedience.
CHAP. IX.
Of Law y or the religious Dispensation Adam W Eve were under
in the Garden.
GEN..ii. 17. But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,
thou fhalt not eat of it ; for in the day that thou catejl thereof, thou
fhalt furely die. This is La%v ; clear ideas of which are neceliary to
the right underftanding of St. Paul's writings.
Law is a rule of action, or duty, commanding or prohibiting, given,
by the Sovereign to moral Agents, with the penalty of death annexed.
Tranfgrefs and die, is the language of Law. And therefore every tranfgref-
for, the moment he is fuch, is dead in law; and, for any thing in Law, he
muft continue fo, as long as it is true that he has violated the Law, that
is, for evermore. For the Law, which condemns him, can give him no
relief}
44 Of the Difpenfatlon Adam and Ch IX.
relief; as, in its own nature, it excludes repentance and pardon ; nei-
ther of which can take place, unlefs Law is overruled, or the execution
of it fufpended by the authority and favour of the Sovereign. For Law
Would not be Law, if i'ts fenfc or language were this, the tranfgrejfor, who
doth not repent and obtain pardon, Jhall die; feeing this would be to allow
tranfgreflion by Law, upon the uncertain conditions of repentance, and
the Sovereign's mercy. " You may fin with impunity, if you do but
" repent, and find favour." And fo the Law would be invalidated by
itfelf, as it would allow a conditional tranfgreflion, which would annul
the annexed penalty, by fufpending the execution of it for ever, in ex-
pectation of the finner's repentance, and the Sovereign's forgivenefs ;
for, as the finner may poflibly repent in any future tine to all eternity,
fo the Law could not at any time be executed. Confequently the Law,
by this means, would be rendered forever infignificant, as it might be
violated for ever with impunity. Therefore-, to be confident with itfelf,
Law muft muft be conceived in abfolute terms, fin and die ■, fubje&ing
every finner immediately to the penalty of death, which is the curfe of
the Law, Gal. iii. 10, 13. By this rule the Apoftle, having proved
that all flefh have finned, concludes, th.it ns fiefl), or no part of mankind,
tan be ju/iified , or entitled to life, before the Sovereign, by deeds or
works of Law. Rom. iii. 20. For the Law works wrath, or fubje&s the
tranfgreflbr to death, the curfe or penalty of it, Rom. iv. 15. On
which account it is very properly called, the minijiration, difpenfation,
or conftitution, of death, 2 Cor. iii. 7. as it is a conftitution which af-
fords nothing but rigid condemnation for all tranfgrelTors.
Hence it follows, that death in Law is death eternal, without hopes
qf a revival or refurredtion. For, as before proved, it is the very na-
ture of Law, never to remit the penalty or forfeiture. The Law which
now condemns the criminal, condemns him to death abfolutely, and for
evermore; the everlafting language of Law to every one that breaks it,
and for every breach and tranfgreflion., being this, Thou /halt die. And
this is the force of the expreflion niDD TWO tnoriendo morieris, " in
" dying thou fhalt die,r' in the Law given to Adam. It doth not fpeak
of the certainty of the event, as if he fhould certainly die the day he
tranfgrefied, for the event fhews the contrary ; nor that he fhould be-
come mortal from a change in his conftitution, which is a random con-
jecture, without any foundation in the nature of his conftitution, which
was created mortal, or in the force of the words. For the phrafe rniD
nion is anHebraifm, importing that a thing is, or is clone, thoroughly,
totally, in the molt perfect manner, or the moft intenfe degree, and
is to be interpreted according to the nature of the fubjeel:. As Gen. ii.
16. "ioND b"2X co?nedendo comedes, " thou mayeft freely eat," without
any reftraint. Chap, xxxvii. 33. rpy rp& rpo difcerpendo difcerptus efi
Jofeph, Li Jofeph is torn all to pieces," or moft cruelly torn to pieces.
Exod. xxi. 19. VD"V 2fD"n et medicando medicabitur, " and fhalt caufe him
to be thoroughly healed.'* Thus the force of the words, " in dying
<' thou fhalt die," is this, thou fhalt thoroughly, utterly, totally die,
or die for ever, without coming to life again. Thou haft juftly for-
feited
Ch. IX. Eve were under in the Garden. 45
feited thy life and being, and fhalt fuffer a total and eternal ex-
tinction of it.
This fenfe and language of Law mud be underftood only as a decla-
ration, that the penalty is juft and due ; which is all that can be done
by Law as a rule of juftice, declaring, in general, that he who is dif-
obedient to his Maker hathjuftiy forfeited his being; and that, in con-
sequence of his difobedience, his Maker may juftly deprive him of it.
The Law can only declare the truth of this denunciation, as it hath no
power to put it in execution : the execution of this threatening muft
neceffarily and entirely reft in the hands and power of the Lawgiver ;
who therefore may mitigate, refpite, or fufpend it, as he, judging of
circumftances, mall in his wifdom think proper. This is the prero-
gative of the Sovereign or Lawgiver, which is allowed to be fit and rea-
fonable all the world over. For, if this were not allowed, in proper
cafes, there could be no fuch thing as pardon, or the mitigation of the
fentence of Law, either with God or man ; which in every nation,
and throughout the whole univerfe, would be a ftate of things the
moft fevere and the molt dreadful.
Thus room is made for the exercife of favour or grace, without doing
any violence to truth. The penalty indeed is due ; but according to the
true natures of thing?, there may be alleviating circumftances in the
cafe of the tranfgrefior, which, though Law can make no provifion for
them without deftroying itfelf, yet the Lawgiver may, and, in reafon
and truth, ought to confider and allow, with refpecf to the infliction of
the penalty. Wifdom and goodnefs ought to have place in him, and cer-
tainly do take place in God, as well zsjujiice. Juftice confiftsin exe-
cuting the penalty of the Law according to the letter of it ; which letter
(2 Cor. iii. 6.) killeth, or deftroys, the (inner, by fubjeding him to
eternal death, or to a total extinction of life ; according to which rule,
there could be no place for mercy, and the whole world muft be ruined.
But wifdom and goodnefs may mitigate the rigour of this conftitution, not
by abrogating the Law, as a rule of life ; for fo the Law is holy, and
the commandment is holy, jvjl and good, (Rom. vii. 12.) and can never
be abrogated, being, in its general intention, agreeable to the ever-
lafting and immutable nature of things : much lefs by finding out
Come expedient to fatisfy Law and jujtice, which can be Satisfied no
other way than by the death of the offender; for juftice, as ufed in.
this cafe, is acting ftrictly according to Law.
Nothing, therefore, but the execution of the Law can fatisfy Juftice.
The wifdom and goodnefs of the Sovereign may do what the Law can-
not do; that is to (ay, may fufpend the execution of the fentence as long
as he fhall think fit ; and fo may leave what fpace he pleafesfor the lin-
ker's repentance, and provide what means he fhall think proper to induce
him to repentance; and upon his repentance, may reftore him to the
aflurance of eternal life, by an eternal fufpenfionof the execution of the
Law. For as to that, he cannot be limited to any fpace of time. If
he hath a right by prerogative to fufpend at all, it muft be a difcretion-
ary right to fufpend as long as he choofeth. This is grace, or gofpel; by
z which
46 Of the Dlfpenfation Adam, GrV. Cm. I3C.
which the firmer may be rertored to the hope of immortality, and
actually inverted in it, by the wifdom and favour of the Lawgiver. This
vnv, or remedying conftitufior, the Apoftle calls fpirit, which quickens
the firmer condemned to death by the Utter of the Liw, or makes him
to live. 2 Cor. iii. 6. Who r.lfo hath made us [Apoftles] alle mini/ten of
the New 7'ejrament [or conftnution], not of the letter but the fpirit ; for the
letter kill:, bv.t the fpirit giveth life. Which fpirit, he informs us,
ver. 17, is the Lord, or the Gofpel of our Lord. Now the Lord is that
fpirit, that life-giving fpirit, or the latter Adam, who is a quickening^
or life-giving, fpirit, 1 Cor. xv. 45.
That the penalty, in the day that thou eatefl thereof, thou Jhalt furely, dr
utterly, die, is to be underflood, not of the event, as if he mould cer-
tainly die, but of the demerit 'of tranfgreffion, that he would deferve to
die; and that, notwithstanding this threatening, the Sovereign might
refpite the execution of it, and not only allow the tranfgreflbr the benefit
of repentance, but alfo appoint means to lead him to repentance, and to
eternal life ; may be clearly proved from Ezek. iii. 18. xxxiii. 8, 11, 14,
15. Where God repeats the very fame fentencc of the Law upon the
wicked perfon, whom yet, at the i:;mc time, he charges the Prophet to
■warn, in order to bring him to repentance, promifing pardon and life in
cafe he did repent. Ezek. iii. 18. When \f\t$iC2 in dicendo me, whereas]
J fay [in the Law] unto the -wicked fTiOJI mn than Jhalt furely die ; and
thou givejlhim not warning, nor fptakcjl to warn the wicked from his wicked
tvaytofave his life* Chap, xxxiii. 8. When [whereas] I fay [in the Law]
until the wicked, O ivicked man, m nn m?3 thon Jha.'t furely [utterly] die,
if thou dojl not fpeak to warn the wicked from his way, &c. Ver. 14. Again,
when [whereas] / fay [in the Law] unto the wicked, niftn mtt thou
Jhalt Jisrely [totally] die ; if be turn from his fin, and do that which is lawful
and right, ver. 15. — niD> xb MTV m vivendo vivet, he Jhall furely
[totally, eternally] live, he Jhall Hot die.
Thus Law in the rigorous fenle is to be underflood ; and thus it {lands
in connexion with the pardon of tranfgrtflors, or their attainment to
eternal life through the favour of the Lawgiver. That our fiift parents,
while in the garden of Eden, were under Law, or aruleof AcYton with
the penalty or death annexed, is manifeft from the very form of the pro-
hibition But of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil thou Jl)alt not
eat of it ; fur in the day thou eatfl thereof, thou Jhalt utterly die. And the
Apoltle Pa a/ evidently fuppofes, that Adam was under Law, Rom. v. 13,
14. For until the law [of nJofcs]y;« was [committed] in the world; but
fin [thoug b committed] is not imputed [unto death] ^ octo? x^s when
Law is not in being. This fuppofes, I. That Law is the only constitu-
tion which fubjedteth the lmncr to death. 2. That Lav/ was not in be-
ing in the times preceding the giving of the Law of ?Aofes. ver. 14.
NevertheleJi death reigned from Adam to Mojcs [while Law was not in
bei ng], eve 1 over them that had not finned after the liker.cfs of Adam's tranfg rcf-
fton. That is to fay, " Death reigned all the long fpace of about 2560
" years frc m Adam to Mofes> even over thofe who did not fin, as Adam
*' did, againft Law, making death the penalty of their fin ; becaufe du-
'• ring tha t period mankind were not under Law, but under the general
'* covenant,,
Ch. X. Of the Injihuum of Marriage, 47
«* covenant, or conftitution, of grace, given to Adam immediately after
*' his tranfgreftion."
This evidently fuppofes, that Adam was under Law with the penalty
of death annexed, while he was in the garden, or before he tranfgrelled;
and that the fame fevere conftitution was again revived by Afofes, after it
had been fufpended from the time of Adam\ tranfgrefiion till the Law
was given by Mofes. Whence the Apoftle concludeth, that, as Death
reigned all that long period, while fin was committed in the world, ind
yet no pofitive Law fubtifted, making death the penalty of fin , he con-
cludes, I fay, that men, in general, did not die for their own tranf-
grefllons, but in confequence of Adams one tranfgreffion.
It mull be obferved, that the Apoftle Paul doth not always ufe Law
in the rigid fenfe, but fometimes for the whole Jewifh Code, or the
Old Teftament. Rom. iii. 19 ; fometimes for any inward principle
which influenced! and governeth a man vii. 23 ; fometimes for a
rule in general iii. 27 ; and fometimes for a rule of action, with the
penalty of death annexed. Rom. v. 20. vi. 15. vii. 4, &c.
CHAP. X.
Of the Institution of Marriage.
Gen. ii. 18, to the End.
/fDAM's calling all beafts and fowls by names doth not imply, that
•^ he had a perfect knowledge of the natures and intrinfic qualities of
all animals; an opinion deftitute of all evidence; but that God gave
him dominion over them, as a mafter over his bond-fervanis, according
to the force of the phrafe, to call things or perfonsby name. Plal. cxlvii. 4.
Ifai. xl. 26. xliii. 1. God allowing Adam to give the creatures what
names he pleafed, was the form of conveying or making over to him
the property of them, and dominion over them. It hath alfo reference
to the formation of woman ; that Adam, our firft parent, having fur-
veyed all other animals, and having obferved that they were created in.
pairs, for the propagation of their feveral kinds, might be fenfible of
his own folitary, deftitute condition, and of the importance of his be-
ing alfo provided of a mate fuitable to his nature, (which, by reafon.
of its fuperior excellency, could not be matched with any of the brutal
kind) a companion in body and mind, fit to cohabit with him, for mutual;
converfe, delight, comfort, and affiftance, efpecially for propagating,
the human fpecies; without which the world would have been ftocked
with only brutes.
And it was fitting, or agreeable to the true nature of things, that tho
formation of the firft woman fhould be attended with fome circumftance
expreflive of the nearnefs of that relation which was to be the fountain of
ths
48 Of the Injlitution of Marriage. Ch. X.
the exiftenceof all mankind, and of all the near and dear relations fo
beneficial and comfortable to the life of man ; and no circumftances
could do that more fignificantly, than taking the woman out of a part
of the man's body. Thus fhe became another felf ; and this was in-
tended as a document to all pofteritv, that a wife fhould be regarded
and treated as fuch. Ephef. v. 28. So ought men to love their wives , at
their own bodies ; he that loveth his wife, lovcth himfelf.
Ver. 23. And [when the Lord God brought to him the woman, his
wife, and informed him in what manner fhe was produced] Adam [aid,
fwith much Satisfaction and joy] this is now bone of my bones, and flejh of
myflejh, the deareft to me of all creatures ! Jhe Jhall be called nZ'H JVo-
man, becaufe Jhe is taken out of i£"N Man [a lign of Adam's property in
her], ver. 24. And the Lord God faid, ( Mat. xix. 4, 5.) Therefore Jhall
a man leave his father and mother, and Jhall cleave unto his wife, and they
two Jhall be one fiejh. Thus marriage was inftituted ; a facred and ho-
nourable ordinance, of high diftindtion, as it is very nearly connected
with the dignity and happinefs of the human nature.
And by making only one woman for one man, God plainly declared,
that this relation ought to fubfift between two ; as the Prophet well
argues, Mai. ii. 14, 15. And did not hey God, make but one couple, one
man and one woman, as a rule to all mankind, that fhould defcend
from them ? yet had he the refidue of the fpirit, and could then have
created more men and women, if promiscuous converfation had been
for the greater happinefs of the world. And wherefore did he make but
one couple ? That he might feek a godly feed, EDTIPN JHI an excellent
feed ; that man and wife, in chafte wedlock, in fincere and undi-
vided affection, might propagate a pofterity to the honour and fervice of
God. This is an argument againft polygamy and divorce, confirmed
by our Lord's wifdom and authority, Mat. xix. 3, 4, 5, 6. Thus
mankind are brought into the world in a way fuitably to the excellency
of thsir nature. For, confidering how weak and imperfect our in-
fancy is, and in how great ignorance and difiolutenefs of manners we
muft neceflarily grow up to manhood, without good discipline and in-
flection, it is evident this world muft have been the moft wild and
diforderly fcene imaginable, were the race of mankind propagated in a
vagrant, licentious manner, without parents to own them, and by their
tender care and affection to give them a good education. The production
of an intelligent being, in the moft helplefs and expofed circumftances,
and which grows up to a due degree of underftanding, no otherwife than
by good culture, ought to be attended with all the proper advantages in
the propagator's power. And therefore the propagation of the human
fpecies, according to the true nature of things, ought to be guarded and
directed by the belt exercife of reafon, and not left to be done in a loofe,
brutal manner. God did not create man in jeft ; nor fhould the ordinary-
generation of a man be made a matter of lewd jeft, or of lawlefs paflion.
This is the rationale of marriage, and of modefty and fobriety.
Adam had no choice, but his defendants have great need to exercife
prudence in the choice of a relation fib important and lafting. The ad-
vice and approbation of parents is, in this cafe, one of the beft rules.
And
Ch. XI. Of the Tempter who deceived Eve. 49
And as marriage leflens the interefts of parents in their children, it is
generally not dutiful to alienate it to another without their knowledge
and confent : nor mould parents unreafonably oppofe the lawful in-
clinations of their children.
Ver. 25. And they were both naked ', the man and his wife, and were
not ajhamedy being free from fin and guilt.
CHAP. xr.
Of the Tempter who deceived Eve.
Gen. iii. 1 9.
HERE Eve is deceived and tempted to tranfgrefs the law of God
by fome moral agent, who could fpealc and argue, called by Mo-
fes itTIJn the Serpent; which, he faith, was more fubtle than any other
hea/i of the field which the Lord God had made. But a bead of the
field, how fubtle or fagacious foever, could not fpealc and reafon. Who
then was the moral agent that deceived Eve? St. Paul, 2 Cor. xi. 3.
fpealcs of the deceiver in the fame manner zsMofes doth ; I fear, lejl by
any means, as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his fubiilty, fo your minds
Jhould be corrupted from the fimplicity that is in Chrijl. The Apofile did
not fuppofe the Corinthians might be corrupted by the fubtilty of an
irrational creature; confequently, he did not fuppofe that Eve was be-
guiled by the fubtilty of an irrational creature. But St. John comes
nearer to the point in Rev. xii. 9. xx. 2. where he fpealcs of the
Serpent as a deceiver, and defcribes him after this manner, and the great
dragon was caf out, that old Serpent ; called other wife in Scripture, the
Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. A dragon is a huge
overgrown ferpent. That old Serpent, means that Serpent which of
old, at the beginning of the world, deceived Eve, and ftill was deceiving
the world. (And in feveral other places of Scripture, which we fhall
prefently have occafion to take notice of,the Devil's temptation of Eve
is plainly alluded to.) Therefore this Serpent, and the Devil and Satan9
are fynonymous, and mean one and the fame being. Hence divines
have juftly concluded, that it was the Devil or Satan, an evil or ma-
lignant fpirit, which tempted Eve, in the body, orafiuming the form and
lhape, of a Serpent ; which then might be a very beautiful as well as faga-
cious animal, familiar with Adam and Eve, and much admired by them.
That there are wicked and malignant fpirits, is undeniably true, from
Scripture. 2 Pet. ii. 4. For if God /pared not the Angels that finned, butan^xK
tpfuvxeFaqttffut cajl them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of dark-
tiefs, to be referved unto judgment. [Or rather, caft them down into a low,
wretched condition, in chains of darknejfs, delivered them to be referved
Vol. I. D unto
50 Of the Tempter Ch. XI.
unto judgment.] Jade 6. Jind the Angels which kept not their fir jl eflate,
hut left their own habitation, he hath referved oia-y.cii enhon ino £&£o* in ever-
lasting chains under darknefs, unto the judgment of the great day. Being
cajt dozen to hell, and delivered into chains of darknefs, in St. Peter, is the
fame as being referved in perpetual chains under darknefs, in St. fude; and
•may fignify no more than, that they are degraded from their former
high and glorious ftate, and chained, or confined to, a much lower,
narrower, and darker fituation, without any hope of favour, unto the
day of judgment; when they, with all workers of iniquity, fhall be
cafi: into everlaiiing fire, Mat. xxv. 41. Rev. xx. 10, 15. For any
thing therefore advanced in thofe two places, thofe fallen angtls
may at prefent refide in our air, and be permitted to wander about in
the earth.
It muft be obferved, that there is an ambiguity in both the word?,
JCii' Satan, and &hx£o>.®- the Devil. The former, Satan, fignifies any
adverfary among men and good angels, as well as among evil fpirits.
Num. xxii. 32. And the Angel of the Lordfaid, behold, I went out to
wiihfiand thee, \VWh TNV' for an adverfary, a Satan. So 2 Sam. xix.
22. Ye fans of Zeruiah are adverjaries. I Kin. v. 4. xi. 14. 23, 25.
Pfal. lxxi. 13. cix. 20,29. Peter was Satan, an adverfary, to our Lord,
Mat. xvi. 23. And the unbelieving "Jews were the Satan, or adverfaries,
who hindered St. Paul's return to 7 ' bejjalonica, 1 Thefi. ii. 18. c\\ce%oU;,
Devil, fignifies an accufer, flanderer. Job. vi. 70. and one of you,
Judas, is Aia£o\o<; a Devil. I Tim. iii. 11. 1 heir wives muft be grave,
pi Aia£oA«j not Devils, /. e. accufers, fanderers. 2 Tim. iii. 3. falfe
accufers, Tit. ii. 3. Thus it may be applied to any wicked perfons,
who flander, accufe, and perfecute the people of God. And this am-
biguity in the fenfe of thofe two words, |Btfi| and AiaCo*^, may ren-
der it doubtful how fome particular paflages of Scripture are to be
undcrftood.
That thofe tv/o words are ufed to fignify one and the fame wicked
fpirit, who, with many others his angels, or under-agents, are conver-
fant in our world, and endeavour to draw men into fin, and do mifchief
among us, is very evident from Revelation. As in the cafe of our firfl
parents, of fob, whofe children and fubfta nee were deftroyed, and his
body afflicted with a grievous diforder by Satan, Job i. 12, &c. ii. 6, 7 ;
of our Lord, who was tempted of the Devil, or Satan, Mat. iv. 1, 3,
jo. Mark i. 13. Luke iv. 2. Which temptation, under all its circum-
itances, can never be refolved into an allegory ; much lefs can it be fup-
pofed to be all tranfacted within our Lord's own mind, as if the Devil,
or Satan, was no other than the fuggeftious, or thoughts, that arofe in
his own heart, which is very abfurd. Nor can the following texts be
naturally underflood of any other than a real Devil or Satan. Mat. xiii.
39. The enemy that fowed the tares is the Devil, [and his instruments]
Mark iii. 26. How can Satan coft out Satan? Joh. viii. 44. Ye are of
ynur father the Devil. A els x. 38. Healing all that were oppreffed of
the Devil 2 Cor. xi. 13,14. for fitch are falfe apoftles, deceitful workers,
transforming themfelvcs into the Apoflles ofChrift. And no ?narvel, for Satan
himjclf is trans for?ned into an Angel of Light. Heb. ii. 14. That through
death he might "deftroy him that hadthf power £/'[fubje£ting our firft parents,
and
Ch. XI. ivho deceived Eve* 5 1
and their pofterity, to] death, that is, the Devi/. 2 Tim. ii. 16. re-
cover themfelves out of the fn are of the Devil. Jam. rv. 7. Refift the Devil,
and be (hall fee ft om you. 1 Jon. iii. 8. He that committeth Jin, is of the
Devil; for the Devil fintteth from the beginning [of the world, alluding to
his tempting our fidr. parents into fin ;] for this caufe the Son of God was
manifejled, that he might dejlroy the works of the Devil. Jude 9. Yet Mi-
chael, the Arclyangel, when contending with the Devil, he difputed about the
body of Mofes. And generally, Satan and Devil are thus to be under-
ftood in the New Teftament, the few places before mentioned only ex*
cepted : though, where the Devil is principally intended, his ir.ffru-
ments, or wicked agents among men, may at the fame time be con-
noted.
Befides Sat2n, or the Devil, the Scripture frequently mentions other
evil fpirits, called &xipon», Soupon-,, Dccmons, which we tranflate Devils.
That thefe Daemons, however underftood in profane authors, do be-
long to the Devil's retinue, and may be his angels or under-agents,
over whom he is chief or prince, will appear by comparing Mat. xii.
22,24, 2%- Lukex.i-, 18. xi. 15, 18. Thole who in the Gof-
pels are faid to be ^a^ontp^tvoi poilefled by Daemons, in Jits x. 38. are
i'aid to be oppreffed of the Devil, vmrdv AwtG&ou, as they were under the
power of his agents. Thus we may conceive of the Devil and his an-
gels, Mat. xxv. 41. the Dragon and his angels, Rev. xii. 7. He is the
prince and head, and thole daemons are his fubjetPis. They are often
fpolcen of in the plural number, as being many; though Satan, or the
Devil, is always in the lingular, as being but one fingle ipirit, and
chief over all the reft. But, as before obferved, his angels, or agents,
may fometimes be included with him.
The characters which the Devil or Satan fuftains in Scripture, are
thefe, the great Dragon, or fierce Devourer, the old Serpent, full of vil-
lainous fubtilty, Rev. xii. 9. The Wicked One, Mat, xiii. 38. I Joh.
iii. 12. A Murtherer and Liar, Joh. viii. 44. Ye qre of your father, the
Devil, and the lufis of your father will ye do. He tvas a murtherer from the
beginning, [in effecting the death of Adam and his pofterity ; and thus he
may be faid to have had the power of death, Heb. ii. 14. J and abode not
in the truth, becaufe there is no truth in him. When he fpeaketh a lie, he
fpeaketh of his own, for he is a liar, [as he was to Eve] end the father of
it. The Accufer of the Brethren, Rev. xii. 10. [See Job i. 6 -i3.il.
I 7.] A roaring Lion, [rhe lion roars only when he is hungry, Pfal.
jcxii. 13. Ezelc. xxii. 25.] feeking tvhom he may devour. The Prince of
the World, meaning, as it is corrupt and wicked, John xii, 31. xiv. 30.
xvi. II. The Prince of the Power of the Air, the Spirit that now ivorketh in
the Children of Dijobedience, the idolatrous heathen, Ephef. ii. 2. Here
theDevil is reprefented as a prince, or fovereign, at the head of a king-
dom which ftands in oppofition to> and is at war with, the kingdom of
Chrift ; who was manifefted as his antagonift, that he might dejtroy the
tvorks of the Devil, 1 John iii. 8.
The Dffimons are characterized as the Devil's angels, Mat. xxv. 41.
As unclean Spirits, Mark v. 2, 8, 12. Luke iv. 33, 36. viii. 27, 29. Evily
wicked, Spirits^ Luke viii. 2.
D 3 Thefe
52 Of the Tempter, Mr, Cti. XI.
Thefe vicious fpirits, the Devil and his angels, when permitted, are
capable of doing any mifchicf to the eftate, body, or mind, i Sam. xvi.
14. Job i. 12, &c. ii. 6, 7. yl/tfr£ iii. 23, 26. i?^f xiii. 16. 1 Cor. v,
5. I iTVtfz. i. 20. Nor is there any abfurdity, any thing inconfiftent
with the Divine Goodnefs, infuppofing that evil fpirits may inflict ca-
lamities and diforders upon mankind : for they are only inftruments in
God's hands, under his direction and controul, as much as any other
caufe whatever; and (o muft come under the fame rules as any other
means which Providence may employ in d iff reding or deftroying human
life, as ftorms, inundations, the pafuons and powers of wicked men, a
putrid air, vitiated humours in the body, &C« In all thefe cafes, what-
ever is the inftrumentalj God is the appointing and directing caufe ; and
-it would have been all one, whether he had fent a good or evil angel, or
had only changed the temperature of the air, to deftroy the Ifraelitcs by
peftilence, 2 Sam, xxiv. 15, 16 ; or to flay Sennacherib's army, 2 King.
xix. 35. 2 Chron. xxxii. 21. In correcting or punifhing by difeafes, or
other diftreiTes, God may ufe what inftruments he pleafes.
Thus far we may go upon this p irt of the fubject, and not much
further. The world of fpirits lies fo far out of our fi^ht, that we can
•know no more of them, than what is revealed ; nor have we principles
fufficient to enable us to form clear and complete notions of every thing
faid concerning them even in Revelation.
That which molt of all requires our attention, is, that the Devil de-
lighteth in feducing mankind to fin againft God, and takes every advan-
tage, and ufes every wile to effect his wicked purpofe. Rev. xii. 9. The
great dragon, called the Devil and Satan, deceiveth the whole world. Mat.
xiii. 39. The enemy that fowed them, the tares, i. e. wicked men, is the
Devil. Of which we have a fpecimen in his temptation of our firft pa-
Tents. He concealed himfelf in the body, or fliape, of a Serpent, pro-
bably at that time a creature admired by Adam and Eve for its beauty
and fagacity. Ke firft add refT-d the woman, when alone, and at a dif-
tance from her hufband ; and firft endeavoured to weaken her fenfeof the
obligation of the Divine Prohibition, by reprefenting it as uncertain or
unreafonable, vcr. 1 . Tea, hath God faid, ycjhallnot cat of every tree in the
garden? " Surely you miftake him ; it can never be.fo ; for why fhould
" God debar you of any of the innocent and delightful fruits this gar-
" den yields ?" The woman expofed herfelf to the greateft danger by
deliberating with the Tempter, upon a matter which flie fhould not have
'heard fo much as called in queftion without abhorrence. But fhe was
not aware of his wicked defign ; and therefore, in much fimplicity, gave
him a full account of the law they were under, ver. 2, 3. Which only
gave him, on the other hand, an opportunity of contradicting it by a
moft bold and impudent lie, ver. 4. YeJJoall not far ely die. Yea, he
allures her, they ihould receive great advantage by eating the forbidden
fruit, ver. 5. For God doth knoiv, that in the day ye cat thereof, then your
eyes f hall be opened; and ye Jlmll be as Gods, knowing good and evil. To
i'avour his affertion, he perverts the word of God, by wrefting the name
God had given the tree ; as if it had been called the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil, becaufe God was aware it would endow them with the
molt exalted and extenfiye knowledge; whereas it had its harne upon a
♦very different account.
Thus
Ch. XII. Of the Devil's Temptations: 53
Thus Satan perfuades men to have hard thoughts of God, as if he
envied our happinefs, and laid the reftraints of his law upon our appe-
tites out of ill-will ; but infinite Goodnefs is not capable of envy.
Thus he tempteth us to be uneafy in the condition Providence has
allotted us, and prompts us to be ambitious of things too high for us.
And thus he deludeth with falfe hopes of benefit and advantage from
fin; and, when this laft point is gained, we fall an eafy prey to the
Tempter, ver. 6. And when the woman Jaw that the tree was good for
food, and that it zuas pleafant to the eyes, and a tree to be dejired to make
one wife, Jhe took of the fruit thereof and did eat. " She faw it was to be
defired to make one wife.'' What wrought this opinion in Eve was,
poftibly, the afTurance the Serpent gave her, that he which, fhe very
well knew, before was, like other brutes, dumb and irrational, was,
by the admirable virtue of che fruit, advanced in fpeech and reafon, as
fhe faw, to an equality with herfelf, the moft excellent creature in the
earth; and, therefore, fhe needed not doubt but it would, in the fame
proportion, exalt the human nature to the high perfection of the an-
gelic order. This would pals for demonftration with her, who knew
not that it was an evil fpirit that acted and fpake in the Serpent. But
this is only my own conjecture. — And fhe gave alfo unto her hufband with
her, and he did eat : being, probably, perfuaded (befides the arguments
the Serpent ufed with Eve) by the ftrong affection they had for each
other. Thus the Devil, by tempting our firft parents to tranfgrefs
the law, fubjected them, and their pofrerity in them, to eternal death.
Thus he was a rnurtherer, and may be faid to have had the power
of death. Heb. ii. 14.
CHAP. XII.
Ref.eclions on the Devil's Temptations.
BY fearching the Scriptures we have found, that there is a mali-
cious Spirit which, by Divine Permiffion, ranges about this world,
attended with many more of the fame depraved nature ; and, as any
opportunity offers, is endeavouring to draw men from the practice
of virtue, into all wickednefs and alienation from the truth.
To prevent any cavils againft the fcriptural account of this wicked
Spirit, let it be well obferved,
I. That we cannot be fure, from any unaflifted knowledge or obferva-
tion of our own, that this earth is not frequented by numerous fpirits of
a nature much fuperior to the human. Our knowledge even of the ani-
mals which naturally belong to our globe, hath been, and probably Hill
is, very defective. Without the help of microfcopes, we could never
have difceraed vafl tribes of infects, which we now plainly fee do live
D 3 and
54 Of the DeziPs Temptations. Ch. XII.
and move even in our own bodies, and in all parts of the earth and wa-
ter j and even with this advantage of fight, there may ftill be a world
of lmaller animals, which our fenfes cannot reach. Much more may
myriads of fpirits be mixed amongfr. us, which come not under our ob-
servation. Therefore, as without the aid of microfcopes we fhould ne-
ver have difcovered the moil numerous part cf the inhabitants of our
earth; fo neither, without the light of Revelation, can we be afcer-
tained, what fpirits are and adl in the region of the air. And Revelation
is a mean as proper, at leaft, for difcovering the one, as our own arti-
ficial inventions for difcovering the other. But Revelation informs us,
that angels, both good and bad, are converfant in this world ; which
may be true, though we have no diftincl:, feniible perceptions of their
existence and operations. Under former difpenfations of religion they
mi^ht appear, and act in a fenfible manner ; but under the prefent dif-
penfation they may, for wife reafons (particularly, becaufe we are now
fufficiently inftru&ed in their nature and agency), be wholly invifible :
nor may we be capable of diltir.guifhing their fecret internal impref-
iions from the fuggeftions of our own minds ; or the external, kind
affifTances of good angels, or the malicious injuries of evil angeis, from
the common courfe of Providence,
II. That we are now upon trial hath been already proved ; and that
our trial is well and wifely adjuflrd, cannot be doubted. We ourfelvcs
are by no means capable of judging what kind of trials are molt fuitable
to our own fpirits, becaufe we know but little of the nature of them.
To fettle the kind and degree of our Trials, belongs entirely to him
who alone undirflands the nature of our minds, and the defigns of
his own wifdom. Therefore, if we are mocked when we hear God
hath permitted many evil fpirits to range our world, and to exercife
their malice in tempting mankind, we are really fhocked at our own ig-
norance, feeing this method of trial, as well as the reff, is under regu-
lations of infinite wifdom, and defigned for the purpofes of infinite
goodnefs.
Objection. u Suppofe God hath for wife ends permitted fuch be-
" ings to mingle among mankind, is it not very ftrange that any fhould
'♦ be found fo malicious as to employ that permilfion to the worft of pur-
t( pofes ? How can we fuppofe any fpirits, any intelligences, efpecially
<( of a fuperior nature, fo far abandoned to all fenfe of goodnefs and
«i virtue, as to endeavour without ceafing the corruption and perdition of
*' their fellow-creatures r"
Answer. That wickednefs exifes in the univerfe, is too plain from the
flate of things in that part of it which we inhabit; where we fee great
numbers, in fpite of their own reafon and underftanding, and of all the
inflances of God's love and goodnefs, and of all the moft evident and
powerful arguments to virtue and piety, who not only are very vicious
themfelves, but take an unnatural pleaiure in tempting and corrupting
others, and making them as bad as themfelves. It cannot then be hard
to fuppofe, that there are other fpirits, in other circumftances, who, in
the fame manner, oppofe God ; that is to fay, oppofe truth and virtue.
For the Devil oppofeth and fetteth himfelf againft God, not by might
and power, as if he weie able to contend with the Almighty, but only
as
Ch. XII. Of the Devil's Temptations. 55
as he oppofeth virtue and truth ; juftas wicked men do among ourfelves.
Indeed, we men are under ftrong temptations from the flefh, and the
objects that relate to it; but the fpirits we are fpeaking of, may be un-
der as ftrong temptations of fome other kind, that we are not ac-
quainted with ; they may, by fome finful purfuits and compliances,
have funk themfelves into the laft degrees of moral pravity, and even
be more wicked than the wickeder! man in the earth, more blind to the
goodnefs of God, and more fearlefs of his wrath. Nor are fupcrior
natural abilities an abfolute fecurity againft the very worft moral cor-
ruption : for we do actually find, that great knowledge and under-
Handing are fo far from always making men good and virtuous, that,
on the contrary, thefe are often in a high degree the inftruments of
fin and difobedience ; being wholly employed in finding out pleas and
pretexts for the moft abandoned iniquity.
Thus you fee it is very poffible fuch vicious fpirits may be, may be
mixed among us, and be permitted to tempt us ; and, according to
Scripture reprefentations, they are very dangerous enemies. For,
I. Satan is continually going about feeking all advantages againft us,
Job i. 7. The Lord faid unto Satan, Whence comejl thou? Satan anfweredy
and [aid, From going to and fro in the earthy and from walking up
and down in it. And from the query in the next verfe, Haft thou conft-
dercd my fervant fob, that there is none like him in the earthy a perfeel and
an upright man , one that fear eth God and efcheweth evilf and alfo from
what our Saviour faith to Peter, Luke xxii. 31. Simon, Simon, behold \
Satan hath defired to have you, that he may /if t you as wheat ; it appears,
that he is inquifitive into the characters of men, and bufily feeks, and
gladly lays hold of any occafion to try, and, if poffible, to overthrow
their integrity. I Cor. vii. 5. Defraud you not one the other, except it be
with confent for a time, ihat ye may give y ourfelves to fajhng and prayer ;
and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
II. We may fuppofe a fpirit of fuperior faculties to be very fubtle in
underftanding our various confiitutions and inclinations, and the par-
ticular fins to which our circumftances do expofe us •> and in laying his
baits, and addreffing his temptations accordingly.
ill. Such a tempter can apply a great variety of machinations, de-
vices, [vor.y.cclx, 2 Cor. ii. II.] and wiles [^Saoeiaj, Epkef. vi. II,] to de-
ceive. This is (ccn in the cafe of Eve. And in tempting our Lord,
it is very obfervable, how he varied his devices, and fhifted the fcene of
temptation, to fix, if poffible, fome ftain upon his fpotlefs mind. He
can put himfelfinto any fhape, either of terror, or pleaiing allurement ;
either as a roaring lion, or an angel of light, [2 Cor. xi. 14]. Sometimes
he works by his "agents, employing thofe who are already infnared to
draw in others ; (o Eve was his tool to tempt Adam : fometimes inject-
ing into our minds unrighteous, impure fuggeitions, [Luke xxii. 3.
Acls v. 3.] fometimes taking the word out of our heart, [Luke viii. 12. J
or mixing tares with the good feed, [Mat. xiii. 25. J and corrupting
our minds from the fimplicity that is in Chrift.
But then, all this muft be underflood under the following reitric-
tions.
1. That the Devil can neither hurt us, nor io much as attempt to
D 4 hurt
56 Of the Devil's Temptations. Ch. XII.
hurt us, further than God permits. He is not like the pretended evil
god of the Afanichres, eternal, felf-exiftent, almighty, and independent,
but as much under the power of God as the weakeft reptile under our
feet. When God gives him a commiflion, he cannot a£f. beyond it 5,
and when he has ho commiflion, he is chained up and can do nothing.
He is therefore no other than an agent, entirely and always in God's
han 1, to be uled as he fees fit.
2. Nor can he anyways pollute our minds, further than we ourfelves
do confent. If God permits, poflibly he may work upon the humours
of the body, he may inflame our paffions, abufe our imaginations, or
fuggeft evil things to our thoughts ; but unlefs we willingly admit
thofe impreflions, he cannot poflibly ftain our confeiences with fin.
3 God hath not only furnifhed means and ftrength to refill him, but
hath appointed that, if we do refiit him, he fhall be conquered and van-
quished. Jam. iv. 7. Repjl the Devil, and he will, he fhall, he mud, flee
from you, not by his own choice, but by the will and power of God.
The God of our peace and hfety Jhall bruife Satan under our fleet. And fuch
a victory fhall turn to the praife and glory and eftablifhment of our
virtue. Hence it follows,
1. That it muft be our own act and deed if we are overcome by the
temptations of the Devi!. It is common for people to confider them-
felves as altogether paflive in this cafe, and to afcribe the wickednefs
they commit to the power of temptation ; whereas, in truth, fo far as
we are tempted effectually, we are aclive, we confent and agree to the
temptation, we are drawn away of our own luft and enticed, Jam. i. 14.
Satan tempts, yet can have no advantage over us but what wechoofe to
give him. And therefore,
2. It mult be an aggravation of any crime, that it was done under
the power and influence of this wicked fpirit. For we mufl: be the
children ofl difobedience, we mult have abandoned ourfelves to wicked-
nefs, before Satan can work in us. If Satan can fill our hearts, confider
in what a wretched condition we muft. be. We mufl: have abufed the
faculties of our minds ; we mufl: have defpifed all the riches of Divine
Goodnefs ; we mufl have fhut our eyes againfl: the light of faving truth,
hardened our hearts againfl: the fear of God, feared our confeiences,
itifled many and Arongconvidtions, done defpite to the Spirit of Grace;
we mufl: have withdrawn ourfelves from God, till he hath forfaken us ;
we muft have advanced from one degree of iniquity to another, till our
hearts are prepared to be the feat and refidence of the unclean fpirit,
the murtherer, the father of lies, the prince of darknefs. A condition
unfpeakably deplorable !
With men of virtue and piety he hath no power, though he may vex
and aiTault them, but only with the vicious ; and they not only imitate
his wickednefs, which is bad enough, and conftitutes him their father,
but likewife are under his government, which is ftill worfe, and confti-
tutes him their prince and ruler. Moft dreadful cafe, to be the children
of fuch a father, the fubjeds of fuch a prince, the children of perdition,
the fubjccls of the enemy of all righteoufnefs ! To have the powers of
our minds, Jefigned for the nobleft afls and enjoyments, under the do-
minion of error and lull ; to have the fpirits created for eternal happinf fs
Ch. XIII. Of the Confequences of AdamfsTranfgreJ/lcn. 57
in union with God, in flavery to the vileft of beings; to have the
fouls for whom Chrift fhed his blood, to deliver them from iniquity,
to purify them into the Divine Image, and to prepare them for ever-^
laftino; falvation, — to have thofe fouls quite infenfible to all that is true
and excellent, heavenly and divine, guided by the grand deceiver, in
the power of the deftroyer, and by him pufhed on in the way of ini-
quity to eternal perdition ; how frightful is the reflection ! how dread-
ful mufl the ftate of fuch fouls be !
To prevent our falling into fuch a fad condition, and to fecure our-
felves from the encroachments of this wicked fpirir, let us ever be mind-
ful that we have fuch an enemy, and that, without due care and cir-
cumfpedlion, we fhall fall under his power. Let us carefully guard our
hearts, and obferve well the temper and frame of our minds, that we
may feafonably reftrain every inordinate affection, and immediately re-
ject every evil thought and fuggeftion which ftarts up in our minds.
Be fober, be vigilant. Nothing gives this adverfary greater advantage
than fenfual indulgences. Mortify the flefh with the affections and
lufts. Shun all intemperance and excefs ; and never dare to venture,
how little foever, into the way of temptation and fin. And let us be
fure to keep clofe to God in prayer, and other exercifes of religion.
Thus we fhall put ourfelves under the banner of the Prince of Life,
the Lord Jefus Chrift, and fhall be kept by the power of God, through
faith, unto falvation.
CHAP. XIII.
Of the Confequences of Adam's Transgression.
Gen. ii. 7, to the End. ^
WE are now come to a very grand point in Theology, the Fall of
Man, or the Confequences of Adam's Tranfgreflion upon him-
felfandhis pofterity. Which Confequences Divines, both Papift and
Proteftant, have generally, and for a long tra& of time, reprefented to
be thofe that follow, namely, " the guilt of Adam's ftrft fin imputed
" to, or charged upon, all his pofterity a total defect: of that righ-
" teoufnefs wherein he is fuppofed to have been created the cor-
" ruption of the human nature, whereby all mankind are utterly in-
" difpofed, difabled, and made oppofitc unto all that is fpiritually good,
" and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually ; which cor-'
" ruption of our nature is thefource of all wickednefs that is committed
" in the world. — Further, by Adanfs TranfgrefTion all mankind were
" deprived of communion with God -and all, as foon as ever they
" come into the world, under his difpleafure and curfe, being by na-
* lure the children of wrath, bond-flaves to Satan, juftly liable to all
44 punifhments
58 Of the Confequences of 'Adam 's Tranfgreffion. Cm. XIII.
** punifhments in this world, and in the world to come, to an ever-
" lafting feparation from the comfortable prefence of God, the moll
" grievous torments in foul and body without intermiflion in hell-fire
*' for ever."
This is an affair of the moft dreadful importance, and requires to be
examined with all poflible care and impartiality; for an error in this
point will affect the whole fcheme of Chriftianity, pervert and abufe
our confeiences, and give us very wrong notions of God and of our-
felves. Upon this article I have examined the Scriptures, with diligence
and impartiality, in the treatife entitled The Scripture Doftrine of
Original Sin , propofed to free and candid Examination in the ftudy
of which this is a proper place to excicife your thoughts and judg-
ments.
[* Adam having tranfgreffed the law, not only loft a claim to life,
but became obnoxious to death, which was death in law, or eternal
death. And had the law been immediately executed, his poiterity, then
included in his loins, mud have been extinct, or could have had no
exiftence at all ; for, the covenant of innocence being broken, there
was no covenant or constitution fubfifting upon which Adam could have
the lcaft hope of the continuance of his own life, and confequently,
could have no profpect of any pofterity. Thus in Adam all die. While
things were in this ftate, under broken lav/, and before a promife of fa-
vour, or grace, in this interval, for any thing Adam could know, he, and
the whole world in him, were utterly loft and undone for ever. But
our merciful God and Father had quite different views ; he gracioufly
intended to make Adam's fin, and his being expofed to eternal death,
an occafion of erecting a new difpenfation, a difpenfation of grace in
the hands of a Mediator. According to which, Adam was affured that
he mould not immediately die, butfhould live to have apofterity by his
wife. So Adam underftood what the Lord God faid, ver. 15. And
upon this he gave his wife a new name, {ver. 20.) mn Life, or Life-
giving, for joy that mankind were to be propagated from her, when
he expected nothing but immediate death in confequence of his tranf-
greffion.]
[t God gracioufly intended, after Adam's TranfgreiTion, to erect a
difpenfation of grace, for the redemption of mankind ; which grace
was declared, and, confequently, which difpenfation was eftabliihed,
(Gen. iii. 15. And I will put enmity, &c.) before the fentence of death
was pronounced upon Adam (ver. 19. Dujl thou art, and to duji thou
Jhalt return). Death therefore, in that fentence, ftands under the new
difpenfation, or the difpenfation of grace, and for that reafon cannot be
Death in Law, or eternal death ; but death in Dispensation, or death
appointed for wife and good purpofes, and to be continued only fo long as
God mould think fit. "And thus alfo all die in Adam; thus by man came
death j thus by one man Jin entered into the world, and death by, or in confe-
quence
• Take this in, as a note, p. 18 of Scripture Doclrine of Original Sin, at
the paragraph, 1. Whereas Adam had before, &c.
f Take this in, as a note, p. 66 of Scripture Doclrine of Original Sin, at
No. Immediately upon the annulling the firft covenant, &C.
3
C H . XIV. Of the Origin of Sacrifices* 59
quence of, h\s fn. But it was the high and glorious purpofc of God,
that his beloved Son, the fed of the woman, having, in our flefh, per-
formed the moft perfect and complete obedience, mould be inverted with
dominion and power to raife all men from the dead, and to give eternal
life to all them that tread in the fteps of his obedience. Thus, as by man.
came death, by man came alfo the refurreclion from the dead ; for, as in Adam
ail die, fo in Chrijl Jhall all be made alive. I Cor. xv. 21, 22. Thus, as
by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even fo, by
the righteoufnefs of one, the free gift came upon all men unto jufiification.
For as by one man's d'f obedience the many were made finners, fo by the obedi-
ence of one Jhall the many be made righteous. Rom. v. 18, 19. J
CHAP. XIV.
Of the Origin of Sacrifices.
Gen, iv. I 6.
HERE Cain and Abel perform an zSt of religious devotion, by
way of Oblation or Sacrifice. The queftion is, whether this
kind of worfhip was of divine or human inftitution. They who arc
of the latter opinion alledge, " that we read of no command from
" God for facrificing ; therefore men did it of their own heads, out of
" a grateful inclination to return unto God fome of his own blef-
" fings, and to acknowledge him the abfolute proprietor of all their
" enjoyments ; though they had no dire&ions from him about it."
Anfwer. This feems highly improbable. For how came Abel to offer
his Sacrifice in faith of God's acceptance, {Heb. xi. 4.) if his faith had
nothing to warrant it but his own imagination? Human imagination,
or opinion, nrver was, or ever can be, either the ground or object of
faiih. It is faid, Gen. iv. 4. that God had refpe£t to, or fliewed his
approbation of, both Abel and his offering ; or in the Apofrle's words, he
obtained witnefs, that himfelf was 1 ightecus, God tcflifying cf his gifts; that
they were right, and offered in a right manner. On the other hand, he
cenlured Cain as having prefented his Oblation in fuch a manner as
was not pleafing to God ; which evidently fuppofes a previous infti-
tution, and a rule which Cain was, or might have been, acquainted
with. For, had there not been fuch a rule given, how could he have
been blamed for not obferving it ? It is abfurd to fay, he tranfgreffed
a rule of his own imagination and invention.
The inftitution not being mentioned in a hiftory fo concife, argues
nothing. Other things are alfo omitted, as-religious affemblies, Enoch's
prophecy, Noah's preaching, the peopling of the world, or the increafe
of Adam's family. Things well known, or generally fuppofed, when
the
60 Of the Origin of Sacrifices. C h . X f V.
the hiftorian wrote, needed not to be mentioned, but might be taken for
granted. The only proper and conclufive argument would be to prove,
<i that in thole early days they had no communication with, or revela-
" tion from God ; and therefore, having no way of knowing what the
** mind of the Lord was, were under a necefiity of inventing fomething
" of their own." But this is far from being the C3fe. God, in fome
vifible form, frequently appeared, and made his mind known to Adam,
and to all the fucceeding Patriarchs mentioned in the book of Gene/Is,
for the fpace of 231 5 years ; yea, he converfed and reafoned with and
inftru&ed Cain himfelf. When therefore Adam, and all the other Pa-
triarchs, had the fulleft opportunity of knowing from God himfelf,
what kind of worfhip was mod acceptable to him, there was no need
of their own invention j and it is abfurd to fuppofe that they followed
no other guide.
Jn the infancy of the church they wanted direction, and without
doubt were directed in every thing relating to religion efpecially, fo far
as was agreeable to that difpenfation. Doubtlefs Adam was inftru&ed
by God to facrifice; and it is not improbable that thofe hearts, with
the fkins of which Adam and Eve were clothed, Gen. iii. 21. were (lain
as Sacrifices. God certainly inftrudled our firft parents in the faith and
worfhip which thp alteration in their circumftances required. Having
made a moft gracious covenant with them, [ver. 15 ) it is not unreafon-
able to fuppofe, that he alfo fignlfied to them, that they fhould, for a
perpetual ratification and afTurance of it to their faith, offer to him Sa-
crifices ; for by the blood of Sacrifices covenants were ratified in after-
times. The eating of the tree of life, was a covenanting acTtion, (af-
furing immortality to their continued obedience) fuitable to a ftate of
innocence. But the madlation of a living creature, (exprefling the
deadly nature of fin, at the fame time that it allured them of eternal
life through a facrificed Redeemer) was more fuitable to a ftate of
guilt.
Ver. 3. Cain brought Nn> of the fruit of the ground, &c ver. 4. And
Abel alfo brought of the firfllings of the flock, &c. " As there were fome
" folemn times of making their devout acknowledgments to God ; fo,
" I doubt not, there was fome fet place, -where they aflembled for that
" purpofe. lor the Hebrew word for brought, is never ufed in rela-
" tion to domed ic, or private Sacrifices ; but always in relation to
M thofe public Sacrifices which were brought to the door of the taber-
" nacle of the congregation. As Lev. iv. 4. He /hall bring N'3m
" the bullock to the door, &c. Which occurs all along, efpecially in
" the ninth chapter of that book.
" And therefore, I fuppofe, they brought thefe Sacrifices, here men-
'* tioned, to fome fixed [public] place, where the Shechinah, or glorious
<c prefence of God appeared. For, as they muft have fome fettled place,
*' where they [publicly] performed facred offices, it is moft reafonable
ct to think it had, in thofe early days, refpeft to the Shechinah, ox Di-
u vine prefence, as well as afterwards under the Mofaic difpenfation,
" [when the Divine Prefence refidedj in the tabernacle and temple.
" And therefore they are raid to appear before God, [Exod. xxiii. 17.
" xxxiv. 24.
CH. XIV. Of the Origin of Sacrifices, 61
•« xxxiv. 24. Pfal. xlii. 2, &c. or to prefent t hem f elves before the Lordy
" Job. i. 6."* J
That fome vifible token of the prefence of God appeared in their
religious affemblies in thofe earlieft days of the church, and fpalce and
converfed with them, as occafion required, is evident enough. So the
Lord God appeared frequently and familiarly to Adair,. He held a con-
ference with Cain in fuch a manner as plainly fhews it was no extraor-
dinary thing. And when the fans, or children, of God came together to
prefint thtmfelves before the Lord, the Lord is reprefented as difcourfing
with Satan about the character and circumftances of Job. Job i. 6 — 12.
ii. 1—7.
While men were not fo numerous, but that they might all afTemble
together at one place, probably the Shechinah ftatedly appeared among
them every fabbath. But when they were fo numerous, that they could
not ordinarily meet together once a week, and therefore were under a
neceffity of performing their worfhip in fcparate and remote places ; yet
the Shechinah, or token of the Divine Prefence, might flill remain and
appear as ufual in that original place, where Adam and his immediate de-
fcendents had firff. attended upon divine fervice, and where the Patriarchs,
in a right line defcended from Adam, had their place of refidence. There,
probably, Noah builded his altar, and there the Lord converfed with
him. Gen. viii. 20, &c. ix. I 18. There Rebekah went to inquire
of the Lord, Gen. xxv. 22, 23 ; and fhe received an anfwer, probably,
from the Shechinah or Divine Prefence.
From all this it feems not unlikely, that Cain and Abel's Offerings
were performed before the whole afiembly of Adam's family (which
then muff, have been confiderably increafed), and that the divine accept-
ance of the one, and rejection of the other, was fignified by fome vi-
fible mark, which appeared and was obferved by the whole congre-
gation. It would add very much to Cains difguft to find himfelf fo
openly difparaged, and funk fo much in the favour of God, and the
efteem of the whole family, below his younger brother; over whom,
on that fole account, as he was the firft-born, he claimed pre-eminence,
and expected, whatever his character was, pious or impious, to have
been preferred before him.
The mark by which the Lord God teftified his acceptance of Abel
and his Sacrifice, was, probably, a ftream of fire ifTuing from the She-
chinch, which confumed his Sacrifice. So Gen. xv. 17. A fmoking fur-
nace and burning lamp, i. e. the Shechinah, pajjed between the pieces of the
Sacrifice, and confumed them, in confirmation of the covenant. And
we have many other examples of this kind in facred Hiftory ; as when
Mofes offered the firft great burnt-offering, Lev. ix. 24; when Gi-
deon offered upon the rock, Judg. vi. 21 ; when David flayed the
plague, 1 Chron. xxi. 26 ; and Solomon confecrated the temple,
2 Chron. vii. 13 ; and when Elijah contended with the Baalites, j Kings
xviii. 38, &c. whence the Ifra elites, Pfal. xx. 3. wifhing all profperity
to their king, pray that God would accept [rtJ2H> turn into ajhes] his
burnt-offering.
Ver. 6, 7.
* Bifhop Patrick's Comment, in loco,
m
62 Of the Origin of Sacrifices. Ch. XIV.
Ver. 6, 7. The Lord God reproved Cain for the difguft and indigna-
tion he had conceived againff. his brother, inftrufting him in terms of
divine acceptance. If thou dofi well, Jhalt thou not be accepted? Moft
certainly Fori have an impartial regard to true piety, wherefoever
I find it. But if thou do/l not well, Jin (i. e. the punifhment of fin, as
ver. 13, and chap, xix. 15, and feveral other places,) i'uth couching at
the door, ready to fall upon thee ; and unto thee Jha.'l be his defire, and thou
Jhalt rule ever him. Three things are here fuggefted to appeafe his re-
fentment. I. That the reafon of his not being refpe<£ted was not in his
brother, but in hirrfelf ; for, if he had done well, he would have been as
much refpedted. 2. That, if he did ill, he had no reafon to expect the
Divine favour, but the reverfe. 3. That this fhould not alter his civil
right, nor give Abel any authority over him, but he fhould ftill retain
the privilege of his birth-right. Note This fhews, that the pri-
vileges of his birth-right had been previoufly fettled, either by divine
appointment, or approbation.
But the rancour of Cain's mind could not thus be cured. Being 0/"
the Wicked One, the murtherer, who had lately attempted to deftroy all
mankind, he took an opportunity, and flew his brother. Poffibly the
next fabbath, AbeVs place being empty in the aflembly of Adains family,
the Lord addrefled himfelf to Cain, charged him with his crime, and, in
punifhment of it, banifhed him from the country where Adam and his
family refided; by rendering the ground barren to him, infomuch that,
notwithftanding all his endeavours, it fhould not yield him any increafe.
This would necefTarily oblige him to go feek a fubfiftence in fame other
place. To this fentence Cain remonftrates as too fevere, [and by the
bye, his familiar, indeed too familiar, manner of anfwering the Shechi-
nah, fhews, that fuch appearances of the Divine Prefence were common
and cuftomary] apprehending he fhould thereby be hid from the face of
the Lord, (ver. 14.) or deprived of his care and infpe£tion, and confi-
dered by all mankind as a ftrolling brute, expofed to their hatred, and
in continual danger of being deftroyed. But God, who for wife and
holy ends often protects and prolongs the lives even of very wicked
men, intended that Cain fhould live; either that he might have fpace
to repent, or, being impenitent, might remain a monument of Divine
Juftice ; and therefore, before the whole aflembly, threatened a worfe
punifhment than Cain's to the man who fhould, by killing him, de-
feat the divine fentence, or fruftrate his grace.
And the Lord fet a mark nix upon Cain, &c. In the Hebrew it is,
And the Lord ft, or exhibited, a true token to Cain, that no one who met
him, Jhould kill him ; i. e. gave him fome pledge or aflurance, declared
either in words, as by an oath, or by fome outward token, that his life
fhould be preferved. So the fpies gave Rahab a token, nDS mN, that
her life, and the lives of all her relations, fhould be preferved. Jofiuau.
12 — 14. This token to Rahab feems to have been a folemn oath ; for
the fcarlet cord was not a token to Rahab, but to the fpies, to diftin-
guifh her houfe. N.B. I do not find in Scripture, that niK ever fig-
nifies a mark, or brand, imprefled upon a man's body, but always fome
external aflurance, or pledge given by God, Gen. ix. 13. xvii. ir.
j Sam,
Ch. XV. Of the Shechinah, and Divine Appearances*. 63
I Sa?n. ii. 34. xiv. 10. 2 King. xix. 28. Ifai. xxxviii. 7,8. Jer. xliv.
29, fcff. &c
Ver. 16. And CW«, by force of the divine curfe, went out from the
prcfence of the Lord, i. e. out of the aflembly where the Lord appeared,
and was worfhipped, and never enjoyed the bleffings and advantages
which attended the aflembly any more.
CHAP. XV.
Of the Shechinah, and Divine Appearances.
HAVING had occafion, in the foregoing chapter, to mention
the Shechinah, (a rabbinical word from pli' to dwell,) which is
ufed to iignify a glorious Appearance, covered, or attended with a
cloud, denoting the extraordinary prefence of God, who is neceflarily
every where prefent ; this may be a proper place to examine the Scrip-
ture upon the point of Divine Appearances. They are mentioned in
both parts of the holy Scripture j fometimes without taking any notice
of a vifible glory, and often exprefsly mentioning it ; as in the following
places. Gen. xv. 17. The fmoking furnace and lamp of fire, £>M TD^I,
are juftly fuppofed to correfpond to the cloud and pillar of fire, after-
wards mentioned, as reprefenting the Divine Prefence. Probably, in
a vifible glory the Lord appeared to Abraham, Gen. xvii. I; and to
Ifaac, chap. xxvi. 2 ; and certainly to Mofes in the bufh, Exsd. iii. 2.
The Shechinah was alfo in the cloud and pillar of fire, Exod. xiii. 21.
For it was the fame cloud that afterward refted upon the tabernacle,
when it was fet up, and is called the Cloud of the Lord. Exod.xl. 38.
Numb. x. 34. For the glory of the Lord was within the tabernacle upon
the mercy- ieat, as the cloud was on the outfide of it. Exod. xl. 34. 35.
And it is there defcribed, as in Exod. xiii. 21. that it appeared as a
cloud upon the tabernacle by day, and as a fire by night. Exod. xl. 38.
Numb. ix. 15, 16.
Thus it conducted and guarded them in their journeys, [and then
alone was ordinarily feen by the whole congregation] Exod. xl. 36.
Numb.ix. 17, 18, 15} c. [Ifaiah alludes to this chap. iv. 5, 6.] And, a9
thus the token of the Divine Prefence went before them, the Lord is faid
to go before them, and to lead them by this cloud. And out of this cloud,
or rather from the glory of the Lord, within the tabernacle, the Lord
fpake unto Mofes what he fpake and delivered in the books of Exodus,
Leviticus, and Numbers. Numb. vii. 89. And when Mofes went into the
tabernacle of the congregation, to fpeak with him [God], then he heard the
voice of one fpeaking unto him from off the mercy- feat, that was upon the ark
of the tefiimonyt between the two Cherubims, and he fpake unto him 5 agree-
ably
64 Of the Shechinab. Ch. XV.
ably to whit God had faid, Exod. xxv. 22. I will meet with thee, and I
will commune with thee from above the mercy-feat^/rom between the two Che-
rubjms which are upon the a*k of the teflimony, of all things which 1 will
give thee in commandment unto the children of Ifrael. And there, as upon
a throne, between the Cherubims, the glory of the Lord had its rcfidence
in the holy place in Solomon s temple, after it had taken pofTeffion of the
houfe, at the confecration of it. 1 King. viii. 10, 11. [and there it con-
tinued till the B ibvlonifh captivity. J Hence God is faid to dwell between
S the Cher ubims. I Sam. iv. 4. 2 Sam. vi. 2. 2 King. xix. 15. Pfalm.
]xxx. T, C5V. The glory cf the Lot d appeared to If nob in the temple.
Jfai. vi. I. and to Ezekiet, with many awful circumfiance?. Ezck. i. 28.
iii. 23. x. 4. xi. 23. xliii. 2, 4, 5. x'iv. 4. The glory of the Lord /hone
round about the foepherds, and the angel of the Lord came upon them, Luke
ii. 8, 9. and to the three Difciples at the transfiguration, Mat. xvii. 5.
While he yet fpake, behold, a bright cloud overfja dewed them, and beheld, a
voice out of the cloud, which /aid, this is my beloved Sen, See. The Sbecbi-
nab appeared to Saul, Acts ix. 3. Suddenly there Jhined round about him a
light from heaven', and to Peter in the prifon. Atls xii. 7.
Thefe are the moft remarkable Divine Appearances mentioned in
Scripture. Now the queftion is, Who, in fuch inftances, was the per-
fon that appeared and fpake ? For example, Exod. iii. 14, it is written,
Jnd God faid unto Mofes, I AM that I AM : and he faid, thus Jhalt thou
fay unto the children of Ifrael, I AM hath fent me unto you. Who was it
that fpake to Mofes? Or what notion are we to form of that being who
pronounced thole words, I am that I am ? What makes the inquiry
neceflary is this, that in the fecond verfe it is faid, 7"^ Angel of the
Lord appeared in a flame of fire out of the midfl of a bufh. And yet it is
faid, concerning the fame perfon, ver. 4. When the Lord fuw that he
turned afide to fee, God called to him out of the midjl of the lujh. ver. 6.
Moreover he faid, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the
God of Ifaac, kc. And, ver. 14. God faid unto Mofes, I am that I
AM. ver. 15. God faid unto Mofes, Thus foalt thou fay unto the children
cf Ifrael, the Lord God of your fathers hath fent me unto you. Now,
moft certain it is, that it was the Angel of the Lord that appeared to
Mofes ; and certain it is, that the Angel of the Lord, that appeared to
Mofes in the bufh, did, out of the bufh, pronounce the feveral fen fences
I have quoted. It was the Angel of the Lord who faid, / am the God
of thy father : I am that I am. But the Angel of the Lord God is not
the Lord God, whole Angel he is. How then can it be faid, that the
Lord God appeared and fpake to Mofes? This is the difficulty ; and the
foJution is ready, and very clear.
The folid and inconteftable foundation of the folution is laid by our
Lord himfelf, who perfectly underftood the whole affair of Divine Ap-
pearances, in John v. 37. And the Father himfelf, who hath fent me, hath
born witnefs of me. Ye have neither heard bis voice at any time, vorfeen his
fhape. John i. 18. No man bath fen God at any time. He is theinvifible
God, whom no man hathfeen, or can fee. It is often faid, that the Lord,
the moft high God, appeared to the Patriarchs, to Mofes, and to the
Prophets, the anceftors of the Jews ; but, according to our Lord's
rule, the Appearance, form, or lhape, which they faw, was not the
- Appearance
Ch. XV. and Divine Af\ 6$
Appearance of the Lord God himfcif, for never, at any time, did thty
fee his fhape. Again, it is often faid, that the moil High God /pake
to the Patriarchs, to Jkfofes, and the Prophets; but our Lord affirms,
that they never heard his voice at any time. How fhall we reconcile
this feeming inconfiftency ?
The true folution, according to the Scriptures, is this : That the
Lord God never fpake or appeared in perfon, but always by a proxy,
nuncius, or rneflenger, who reprefented him, and therefore fpake in his
name and authority, faying, I am God all-fujficient ; J am the God of Abra-
ham; I AM that I am. Which words were pronounced by an An-.
ge! ; but are true, not of the Angel, but of God, whom he reprefented,
and upon whofe errand he came. So a herald reads a proclamation in
the king's name and words, as if the king himfelf were fpeaking. Or,
to ufe a more common inftance, lb a brief is publifhed in the king's
name and language, as if the king himfelf were addrdling the congre-
gation where it is read. Thus, George by the grace of God. Sec. whereas
it hath been reprefented to US, &C. therefore they have humbly befaught US
to grant unto them OUR Letters Patent, &c. unto which their requeji
WE have gracioufly condefcended? &c. But much, furely, would he be
mi (taken, who fhould imagine, that the perfon who reads the procla-
mation, or the brief, was his Majefty King George, becaufe he ufeth
his words, and fpcaks as if the king himfelf were fpeaking.
That this is a true reprefentation of the cafe, will appear,
I, From the fignification of the word Angel, [ayy&Vs ""jK/D] which
is a Greek word, and both in that language, and in the Hebrew, fig-
nifies a meffenger, or nuncius, an amba'Jador ; one who acts and fpeaks,
net in his own name, or behalf, but in the name, perfon, and behalf of
him that fends him. And thus the word is frequently rendered in our
tranflation. And had it always been rendered the meffenger of the L
inftead of the Angel of the Lord ', the cafe would have been very plain.
Eut Angel, being a Greek word, which the Englifh reader doth not un-
derftand, it throws fome obfeurity upon fitch p-aflages.
II. It is in Scripture exprefsly faicl, that it was an Angel, a nuncius^
or meffenger of the Lord, who fpake, even when the Lord himfelf is
faid, or fuppofed to fpealc. As Gen. xvi. 7. The Angel "]kVo found Ha-
gar ; and, ver. ic, faid unto her, I will multiply thy feed exceedingly.
Gen. xviii. 1. The Lord appeared unto Abraham, ver. 2. And he lifted up
his eyes, and lo, three men, three Angels in the fhape of men, flood by
him. Nov/ one of thofe men, or Angels, was a nuncius fent particu-
larly to Abraham ; for, ver. 10, he faid, as he was fitting at meat, 1 will
certainly return unto thee; and lo, Sarah f ball have a fon. And Sarah
heard it, ver. 12, and laughed. Ver. 13. And the Lord, i.e. thr An-
gel who fpake in the Lord, faid, Wherefore did Sarah laugh? Ver. \\.
Is any thing too hard for the Lord?- At the appointed time I will return unt9
thee, and Sarah J ball have a in, Gen. xxii. 15. And the Angely
or meifenger, of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven, ver. 16,
and faid, by mffelf have I fworn, faith the Lord, that in bleffing I will blefs
thee, Sec. Upon which place St. Austin, quoted by Ep. Patrick
in his Commentary upon the place, argues in this manner.
Vol, I. J t< la
66 Of the Shechinahy Ch. XV.
<£ In the beginning of this chapter, ver, I, 2, we read, that God
" tempted [tried] Abraham, and bad him go, and offer up his fon Ijaac ;
" but, ver. u, 12. The Angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven^
(i and fa id i Lay not thy hands upon the lad. What is the meaning of this ?
'* Will they (ay, that God commanded Ifaac to be flain, and that his
" Angel forbad it? and that Abraham obeyed the Angel who bid him
" fpare his fon, againftGod, who ordered him to flay him? This is
" ridiculous, and not to be endured. The plain meaning is, that God
** fpake both times, in the one cafe, and the other; but he fpalce by
" an Angel, who was his minifter. That is the reafon Angels fome-
*' times fpeak as if they were the Lord, becaufe they fpake in the Lord's
" name. Juft as when a public crier in a court pronounces the fen-
" fence of the judge, it is not entered in the public records, that the
<c crier pronounced that fentence, but the judge, in whofe name and
" authority the crier pronounced it." Thus St. Austin. — In Exod.
iii 2. the Angel, nuncius, or meflenger of the Lord, appeared unto
Mofcs ; and faid, I am the God of Abraham ; I AM that I AM ; fpeak-
ing not of himfelf, but of the Lord whofe meflenger he was. — foflma
vi. 2. The Lord faid unto Jrfhua. It appears from chap. v. 13, 14. that
it was not the Lord who fpake, but an Angel, under the title of the
Captain of the Lord's Hofl.
Further, it is evident from every part of the law of Mofcs , that it was
given and ordained by God, the Lord, the moft high God ; and in his
name it is every where worded and enjoined, Exod. xx. 1, 2. And God
fpake all thefe words, faying, L am the Lord thy God. And the Lord faid
unto Mofcs. And Mofes faid unto the Lord. And yet it appears from re-
peated teftimonies in the New Teflament, that it was not the Lord,
who immediately himfelf fpake, either to Mofes, or to all the people.
Thus Stephen, a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghoft. Adts vi i. 35.
This Mofcs, whom they refufed, did God feud to be a ruler, and a deliverer
by the hands of the Angel, or mdfenger, who appeared to him in the bufh ;
and who is called the Angel of his, God's, prefence. Ifai. Ixiii. 9. ver.
28. This [Mofes] is he that was in the church in the wildernefs, with the
Angel zvho fpake to him in Mount Sinai. [Note it was an Angel,
melfengcr, that fpake to Mofcs in Mount Sinai.] ver. 53. who have
received the law by the difpofition, in the Conftitutions publifhed by the
miniftry, of Angels. Gal. iii. 19. Wherefore then fcrvcth the law of 'Mofes?
It was added, becaufe of tranfgreffons, till the feed fhculd come, to whom
the promifc was made; and it, the law, was ordained by the miniftry of
jingels, Heb. ii. 2. For if the word fpoken by Angels was fleadfafl, meaning
the law given by Mofes. That law was fpoken to him, and to all the
people, by angels, who fpake, not of themfelves, but what was coiu-
municated to them from God.
III. The Jews very well underftood the nature of thofe manifefta-
tions. They knew when a miraculous voic.i came to them, fpeaking as
God himfelf would fpeak, that it was a meffenger from God, who fpake
jn his name and ftead, Gen, xvi. 7, 9. The Angel of the Lord appeared
and fpake to Hagar ; yet fhc knew it was a Divine Appearance, and
that the Angel perfonated the moft High God. Therefore, ver. 13.
Jbe called the name oftkcLo&Dt that fpake unto her, thou God jccjlme.
Gen. xxxii. 24,
Ch. XV. and Divine Appearances. 67
Gen. xxx ii. 24. TJjere wr eft led a man with facet/. Now Jacob knew
that man was a meflenger from God ; and therefore, ver. 30. he called
the name of the place Peniel ; for I have fcen God face to face, i. e. I have
feen an evident manifestation from God. The common token, that
fuch were Divine Manifestations, was the glory which attended the mef-
fenger, who pronounced the words of the meffage. And whenever that
glory appeared, the Jezvs knew the meffage came from God, whoever
it was that brought it. Thus Luke ii. 9. The Angel cf the Lord came upon
the Shepherds, and the glory of the Lord Jhone round about them. They
knew the glory they faw was not the glory of the Angel, but a token of
the Divine Prefence and authority, Signifying that the meffage came from
the Lord. Therefore they fay, ver. 15, Let us fry) go and fee this
thing, which the Lord hath made knoivn unto us. And fo Saul knew the
light ftiining from heaven, was the glory of the 'Lord, and an infallible
proof of a Divine Manifestation. And, 2 Pet. i. 17. He, our Lord
Jefus Chrift, received from God the Father, honour and glory, when there,
came fuch a voice unto him from the excellent Glory, This is my beloved Son in
zuhom I am well pleafed. Whoever the meflenger was that uitered thefe
words, the Difciples, that faw the transfiguration on the mount, knew
that the thing came from God the Father; becaufe the voice, or words,
came from the excellent Glory, or the Shechinah.
It is very remarkable, that when our Lord was exalted to univerfal
dominion, at the right-hand of God, as head of the church, he alfo had
his Angel, Nuncius, or meflenger, whom he difpatched upon the af-
fairs of his government. Rev. i. I. The revelation of J. fas Chrift, which
God gave unto him, to Jhew unto his fervants things which muft jhorth come
to pafs; and he, Jefus, fent and fignified it by his Angel unto his fervant
John. And therefore, though the glorious appearance, Rev. i. 13 — 17.
is rightly underftood of our Lord, yet it was not he in perfon, but his
Angel, Nuncius, or meflenger, who reprefented him, and appeared
and fpake in his name. And fo in other places of the RiVelation ;
where, neverthelefs, our Lord may juftly be fuppofed to appear and
fpeak.
We may here obferve, that it hath been commonly fuppofed, that our
Lord, before his incarnation, was the Angel that appeared in the She-
chinah, and fpake to Adam and the Patriarchs, to Mofes and the prophets,
and is called the Angel of his prefence, Ifai. lxiii. 9. In all their affiittion
he was aff.it! ed, and the Angel of his prefence faved them ; in his love and in
his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them, and carried them all the days of
eld. To this purpofe they underftand, John xii, 41. Thefe things /aid
Efaias, when he Jaw his glory and fpake of him, i. e. " faw, at that time,
" the glory of Chrift, who was then themedium of divine manifestations,
" and fpake of him, and of his times, or what would happen with refpe£fc
" to the reception of the Gofpel, when he Should preach it to the Jews."
[Dr. Doddridge.'] But, when be faw his glory, maybe well interpreted,
*' when he [Efaias] forefaw his glory, or the glorious manifestations,
" which God intended to make of himfelf to the Jews by his Son."
[Dr. Clarke.] So John viii. 56. Abraham faw ', forefaw, my day, and was
glad. Thus alfo, as he tabernacled among the Jews in the cloud of
glory, they judge he was in the form cf God, Phil, ii, 9 ; which form, or
E 2 Jikenefs
68 Of the Shecbinab, &c. Cfi. XV..
likenefs he was not greedy of retaining, but emptied MmfelfofU, arid took
upon him the form of a fervant. But tins form, or likeneis of God, may
refer to the glory which he bad with the father before the vjcrld was, John
xvii. 5. With regard to which he may alfo be (aid to be the image f
Gol, 2 Cor. iv. 4. — the image of the invifible God, Col. i. 15. — the
hrightnefs of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon9 Heb. i. 3, How-
ever, I Should willingly admit that fuch expreflions refer to the glorious
appearances of the Shechinah under the Old Teftament, were it not for
this objection, that our Lord muft then be fuppefed to publifli the Law,
and to prefide over the Jewifh difpenfation, as we!l as over the Gofpel ;
vv
ichfeemsto be quite inconfiftent with John 1. 17. The I-
by Mfs, hut grace and truth came by Jefus Chrifi. Sec alfo Heb, i. 1,2.
ii. 2. [Heie the Apoitlc's argument proceeds wholly upon the dfrVrence
of the perfons, the Angels, who publifhed the law, and the Lord Jefus
Chrif, who publifhed the Gofpel ; but his argument hath no Strength at
all, if thofc perfons are the fame : . See Mr. pierce upon the text.]
Heb.
* But may we not diftinguifh between the >.oyo<; as a Pro\y of Deity, or as
perfonating the glorious Majefly of God in the Shechinah, and in that capa-
city, by the Holy Spirit, infpiring the Prophets, and presiding over the An-
gels at the giving of the law ; and the fame Xoyo? acting and fpeaking to us,
in his incarnate ltate, in the capacity of a Prophet? In the former capacity
he may be considered in relation to Cod, as perfonating God, or as in the
form of God, whofe agent he was under every difpenfation which God erect-
ed; and therefore as doing nothing in his own perfon. For thus, his perfon
would coincide with that of the fupreme God, and is not to be considered as
different from him, but as aciing in his name and authority. In the latter
capacity he may be confidercd in relation to us, and to our falvation by the
Gofpel ; for the accomplishment of which, he Hooped fo far as to take upon
him our nature, and, not as perfonating God, but in quality of a Prophet
fen: from God, to publifli among us in his own perfon and name, the pro-
mife of eternal life.
And muft not this bring us under greater obligations to attend to him ;
and befuftlcient tociihnguifh him as acting in delivering the law, and preach-
ing the Gofpel? He that was in the form of God, and reprefented God,
when the law was delivered, and who delivered it by the miniitry of Angels
and of Mc/es; that tranfcendently glorious perfon afterwards became a man,
and in his cnjsn perfon, and by his viva minii'trv, delivered to us the Gofpel.
Doth not this, in a very peculiar manner, recommend to us the Gofpel, and
oblige us to attend to its doctrines ? Heb. i. 1, 2. God who at fundry times,
divers manners, /pake in time paft unto the fathers ev the Prophets,
bath in thefe left . tito us by his Son, c5c. God always fpake by
Proxy. .And the Apoftle might fpeak as he doth, although it be true that
our I ord was the Proxy of Deity under the Old Teftament difpenfation ; for
tii : . .poftle here confidcrs, not u ho was the Proxy of Deity, but by whom he
immediately fpake to the fathers in thj Jewifh church, and to us in the
Christian church. And the opposition lieth between, not the Proxies or Re-
prefentatives of Deity, but between the Prophets in the former difpenfa-
tion, and the Son of God in the latter. By his Son, as his Proxy, he
fpake to the Prophets, and by the Prophets he fpake to the Old Teftament
fathers. But under the New Teftament his well beloved Son, who before
was indeed in the form of God, as his Proxy, himfelf became a Prophet, and
in the form of a man fpake to us immediately as a Prophet.
Ch. XV L Cf the Glory of the Lord. 69
Heb. iii. 1 — 3. [Here M fes'shoufe, and Chri/fs houfe, ordifpenfation,
are clearly diltinguifhed.j
But fuppofing our Lord was the Angel, who appeared and fpake un-
der the Old Teftament, yet it mull be remembered, that he appeared
and fpake only as an Angel., or Nuncius, from God. Which chara&er
heexprefsly fuftains, Ada!, iii. 1. — and \)1$ft the Lord,' whom ye Jfeek,
Jhall fuddenly come to his temple • even rvpfl y&D the mcjfenger, Angel,
of the covenant* [not the Sinai, but the Gofpel covenant,] whom ye de~
Rrht in.
CHAP. XVI.
Cf the Glory of the Lord, as it hath relation to the Shechinah,
or Divine Appearances.
IT is deferving of our further obfervation, that the Shechinah, or di-
vine appearances, as a token of God's prefence, and of his gui-
dance, encouragement, and protection of his people, is often men-
tioned in th (lament under the character of the Glory OF
Jehovah1. As in Exodus xyi. 7, 10. xxiv. 16. Lev. ix. 6, 23. Num.
xiv. 10, 21,22. xvi. 10, ;<x. 6. Hebrews ix. 5. — the Cherubim of the
glory, i. e. the glory of Jehcvah; dwelling between the Cherubim,
over the Mercy-Teat. St. Peter alludes to this, 2 Epift. i. 17. — there
came a ml Glory. This token of God's prefence is
otheiwife called his Prefence, Exodus xxxiii. 14. and his Name, as that
figrtifieth a mark of distinction or eminence. Deut. xii. 5. 2 Chron.
vii. 16.
Certainly it was the peculiar honour and advantage of the Ifraelites,
that they had fu h a public vifible manifestation of the prefence and fa-
vour of God; [Rom. ix. 4 Who arc Lfraclites ; to whom pertaineth the
adoption, ana p, or the glorious manifestations of God.] And
was well adapted to that difpenfation of the church j efpecially in the
early times of its institution under Mofes\ when they could not, by ab-
stract reafoning, be fo well acquainted with the nature and perfections
of God ; and therefore flood in need of fome extraordinary vifible token,
to Strike and affect their minds with a fenfe of his prefence, power, au-
thority, favour, and protection.
And as the glory oj the Lord appeared publicly in favour of the Lfraelites,
to guard and guide them, when they left the land of Egypt ; fa the glory
of the Lord is ufed figuratively to denote, in general, his fpecial bldiing,
favour, prefence, and protection, upon any occafion. Lfaiah lviii. 8. Is
it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, &c. Then Jhall thy light, profperity,
break forth as the morning, and thy health fh all fpring forth fpcedily : and
thy rightcoufnefs [falvation, Saviour] Jhall go before thee, 'the glory
K 3 OF
70 Of the Glory of the Lord. Ch. XVI.
of J EHOV ah Jhall be thy rereward, fhall advance in thy rear, or behind
thee, to gua.c thi e ; alluding to the Shechinah, as it guarded and guided
the children of" Ifrael. Jfaiah lx. i. Arife, Jhlne ; for thy light, happi-
nefs, Is come, and the glory of Jehovah is rifen upon thee. Thus it
is figuratively to denote the divine favour and guardianship.
And in the fame manner it is applied to theChnftian church, as de-
notingall the light and bleffings, grace, and glory of tlie Gofpel. Num.
xiv. 21. But as truly as I live, all the earth fhall be filled with MY GLORY ;
fpeaking of the Gofpel, in contradiction to the Jewifh peculiarity. Ifa,
5cxxv. 1,2. The wilder nefs of the folitary place Jhall be glad for them ; and
the defert fball rejoice and blojfom as the rofe, &c. They fhall jee the glory
OF Jehovah, and the excellency of our God, Ifai. xl. 3, 4, 5. The voice
cf him that cricth in the wildernefs, Prepare ye the way of the Lord ; make
Jzraight in the defert a high way for our God. Every valley Jhall be exalted \
&c. And the glory OF J ehov ah Jhall be revealed, andallfijh fhall
lee it together, [nn» completely, or in its perfection] for the mouth of
the Lord hath fpoken it. Hab. ii. 14. For the earth fhall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory OF God, as the waters cover thefea.
All thefe paffages are to be underilood of the Gofpel manifeftations of
God's grace, which is his glory. Exodus xxxiii. 18, 19. And Mofcs
/aid, I befeech thee, fhew me thy Glory. And he (aid, I will make all my
Go >dnefs pajs before thee, and 1 will proclaim the name of Jehovah before
1,hcc ; nan ,f ?]y, as in Chap, xxxiv. 6,7. The Lord — proclaimed, The Lord,
The Lord God merciful, and gracious, &c. The good ne is and mercy of
the Loid is the glory of the Lord.
Andcbi rve, how the Apoftie, 2 Cor. iii. 13 — 18. alludes to the
glory of the Shechinah, with which Mofes converted in the mount ; and
which impreffed fuch a fplendour upon his countenance, as obliged
him to cover it with a veil, wh' n he returned to the people ; who other-
wife could not bear to look upon the exceflive brightness of the glory of
God, reflected from his, Afofes's9 face. In allufion to this veil, obfeuring
the brightnefs of Mofcs his countenance, the Apoftle informs us, ver. 14,
15, that there was an obfeurity, a veil over his writings; which veil,
after Chrifi was come, and had taken it away from the Old Teftament,
the Jews, through unbelief, transferred to their own hearts, and fo re-
mained ignorant of the true meaning of Aiofes and the prophets. But,
ver, 18. we all [all we Chriftians, in oppoiition to the blinded Jews,
ver. 13, 14.] we all with open, unveiled, face, having the glory of the
Lord rcficclcdupon us [from the face of Jefus, Chap. iv. 6.] as from a
mirror, are, in the difpofitions of our minds, changed into the fame image
of moral excellency, from glory to glory, or in order to the moif. complete
glory, even as by the fpirit of the Lord, Johni. 14. The word was made
flcjh, and mwvow dwelt, tabernacled, among us; and we, as well as his
rirft difciples, beheld the glory of Jefus Chrift, as of the only begotten Son of
God, full of grace and truth. The Son of God became a man fubjecr. to
Jike frailties with us, and lived and converfed freely amongftmen; teach-
ing them fully and plainly the great truths relating to God*s gracious
purpofes concerning the redemption and eternal falvation of mankind.
And thus God, and his merciful regards to men, his prefence in his
church, and his power, engaged to keep his fervants, and to bring
them
Ch. XVII. The Scripture-Chronology, &c. ji
them to the pofleffion of ete-rnal life, is more clearly and illuirrioufly
manifefted in the Gofpel, than his favourable prefence and protection
were by the Shcch'inah in the temple, or in any other place, among the
Ifraelilcs.
We who, under the Gofpel difpenfation, are fo well acquainted with
the nature and perfections of God, do not {land in need of any extraor-
dinary vifible token of the divine prefence. The glorious truths of the
Gofpel, revealed by Jefus Chri/i, are our Shcch'mah, mining from him
upon our minds, , and tilling them with comfort and joy, in the allured
hope of his prefent care and bleffing, and of the pofTemon of glory, ho-
nour, and immortality in the future world. And this is to us as a She-
chinah, infinitely preferable to the vifible appearances in the church of
old.
CHAP. XVII.
The Scripture-Chronology from the Creation to the Deluge,
Gen. 5th Chapter.
WE are now got as far as the Deluge. And here, according to
Mofcs, who here begins his genealogies, is the proper place for
confidering how far we are advanced in the age, or chronology, of the
world. For in this chapter he gives the names and ages of the Patriarchs
from Adam to Noahr together with the age of every father, at the time
when every fon was born. And if we add together the ages of the fa-
thers, when their feveral fons were born, and the years of Noah's life
at the time of the Deluge, we mall form chronological tables of the belt
authority, from the Creation to the Deluge, after this manner.
4004
Pr
sot's. Table I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Gen
v. 3, Adam lived - -
r3° *..
2
1
930
Yrs
Yrs.
-
- 6, Seth lived -
105 S3
3
130
2912
,.800
-
9,Enos lived
90 .0
£
=35
2905
J 695
| 84
-
- iz, Cainan lived
lo 1
°
3=5
^ 910
^605
<i79
-
- 15, Mahalaleel lived
6 5 :
£
395
^695
^535
■5=34
-
- 18, Jared lived - -
162 2
460
.£ 962
*47°
•5366
-
- 21, Enoch lived
65 S
■~
622
^365
"5365
-0
.
- 25, Methufelah lived
187 "*
5
6S7
^969
777
.J 243
.t 600
- 28, Lamech lived -
i8z
B
874
J 56
JS95
i - vii. ii,Noah,attheDelug<
600 Yrs. olt
1065
In all - -
656 Years from the Creation to the Fined.
» a34*
According to Table I. if you add together the years from the creation
of Adam to the birth of Methufelah, you will find that Adam was 687
years old when Methufelah was born. And, as Adam lived in all 930
years, as in Table III. if you fubtract 687 from 930, there will remain
34?, which is the year of Methufelah^ life when Adam died. Therefore
J J E 4 Methufelah
~Z Toe ScriptU*e~Chrbno%gy Ch. XVII.
Muhvfelah lived 243 years \v . In the fame way of computa-
tion you may find how long any of the junior Patriarchs lived with
. as in Table IV.
it to the year of Enos's life, when Ccunan was born, and to the year
of Lantech's life, when Noah was born, you add all the intermediate
years, you will find they are 821, which is the age of Enos when Noah
was born : but Enos lived 905 years ; from which fubtract S21 , and the
xemainder is 84, the number of years in which old Enos and young
Noah were cotemporarics. And in the fame way you may find how
long any of the fenior preceding Patriarchs lived with Noahy as in
Table V.
So likewife, if you add together the years from the birth of Mcthvfclah
to the flood, you will find them to be 969 ; which is juft the time that
JWetbufelah lived, as in Table III. Hence we may conclude, that Me-
thufelah died juft before the flood came ; and Noah being then 6co years
old, he had lived juft fd long with Mcthufclah.
So again, if you add the years from the birth of Lamech to the flood,
you will find them to be 782 years ; and whereas Lamech lived but 777
years, it follows, that 'Lamech died five years before the flood came.
Therefore, ail the Patriarchs, except Noah, were dead, when Noah
into the ark.
From the above account it appears, that Mcthufclah lived with Adam
243 years, and doubtlefs cenvcrfed with h 1 in the greateft part of that
time ; and fo had opportunity abundantly fufneient to receive from Adam
an account of what he knew concerning the creation, and all the tVanf-
aclions and events contained in the firft four chapters of Gcncjls. And
as Noah lived 600 years with Mcthufclah^ he had time fufneient to learn
the fame account from him, and may Well be fuppofed to have carried it
with him entire into the ark. And this may be one reafon of the lon-
gevity of the antediluvians ; which 'muft be refolved into the fole will
of God, and can be accounted for no other way. They lived fo long,
in order to preferve, and hand down to pofterity, religious know'
in that period of time when it could not be committed to writing j and
when it would have been either totally loft, or miferably depraved, had
men lived no longer than 70 or 80 years. Befides, their longevity
contributed to the more fpeedy peopling of the world, and to the
bringing of neceffary arts, in tillage, building and clpthing, to a greater
-lion.
Ver. 1. EZHN mVvi ~>DD n? This is the boo"k of th '4 of sldam ;
that is to fiiy, this is the pedigree, or the gepealogy of the descendants
of A, I. i. t. The book of the veneration, it the genealogy of
Jefus (
Ver. 3. As we know that Adam had both Cain and Abel before Seth
was born, fo both he, and the other Patriarchs, might havefeveral other
children before thofe that are named in this lift ; it being, probably, the
defign of A/cfcs to fet down only thofe pen" ns by whom the line of
Noah was drawn from Seth, by their true Jancefto/s, whether they were
the eldeft of the family, or nor.
Ver. 21. — and beg..; igenious conjecture of
AJ»J-
Ch. XV IT. from the Creation to the Deluge. 73
jtinfworth, that nVti'inn is a word compounded of n?3 he dieth, and
rh'l"\ for n^il'D) <?«^ tf" emifon ; as much as to fay, ivhen he diethy
there foaii be an emijfion, or inundation, cf waters. Thus Enoch may be
fuppofed to have predicted the deluge in the name which he gave his
fon M'thrfetab, whh this particular circumftance, that the deluge fhould
happen in the year in which his fon fhould die ; as it certainly did.
However we have the authoritv of an AoolHe, that Enoch was a Pro-
phet, and did forefee, and foretell the deluge to that generation of men.
Jude,\^v. 14, 15. And Enoch alfo, the feventh from Adam, prophefkayf tbeftr
or of fuch men as thefe, faying. Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thoufands
of his Saints, or with myriads of- his holy Angels, to execute judgment
upon all, and to convince all that an mong them of all their ungodly
deeds ivhich they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard, unreafon-
able, contumacious, blafphemous fpeeches, which ungodly Jinners have
fpoken againjl him. This, I apprehend, in its primary intention, is a
prediction of the deluge, by which God would punifh that impious
race which then inhabited the earth. But as their deltru6tion by the
deluge is made an example of the yengeance which God will execute
upon all impenitently wicked at the la.it day, (2 Pet. ii. 5.) fo Enoch's
Prophecy will fuit the wicked of all ages, who fhall certainly meet with
a '• reward of their deeds.
Ver. 22. CD H^KH TIN "]13H y;nrvi And Enoch walked diligently
with, or unto, God, and in a manner agreeable and pleafing to God.
And fo did Noah, chap. vi. 9. In this conitrudtion (with nx) "|bnnn
is ufed but once more, I Sam. xxv. 15; and there it implies friendfhip
and benevolence on the part of thofe they converfed with. Therefore,
the Apoftle rightly inferts the idea of pleafing God in the account he
give-, of Enoch's tranflation, Heb. xi. 5, 6 ; and argues well, thztEnoch's
pleafing'Gcd, was the effect of his faith in God, and in a future re-
ward. For without faith it is impoffibh to pieafe God, or to walk with, or
to come unto him, as Enoch did. For he that cometh unto God, mujl, m
the very nature of the thing, believe that he is, and that he is the rewardcr
cf them that diligently feek him. [Obferve — pleafing God, coming unto Gody
and diligently Jeeking him, are fynonymous, and all included in the fenfe
of walking with God.] By faith Enoch led a very religious and hea-
venly life. His thoughts and affections were removed from things be-
low, and fixed upon things above. He had a deep fenfe of God and
his perfections, delighted in his ways, behaved as always in his fight,
and conftantly ihidied to pieafe him, and promote/his glory. Being of
a character fo excellent, and withal a perfon of eminent note, and great
induftry in oppofing the growing wickednefs of the world, God was
pleafed to reward his piety, and give the reft of mankind a demonftra-
tion of a future ftate of glory, the inheritance of the holy and virtuous,
by translating him alive, without feeing death, into heaven. It is not
improbable, that he was tranflated in fome vifible manner as Elijah was
afterwards, by a glorious appearance of the Shechinah, from whence
fome heavenly minifters might be detached to convey him to a better
world. This happened 57 years after Adam's death, in the year of the
World 987, and 669 years before the deluge,
Ver.
74 Of the Deluge. Ch. XVIII.
Ver. 29. And Lantech called his fon's nameNoah, [reft or refrefhment,
from 1713 to reft, to take repofe,] faying, This fame Jhall comfort us con-
cerning our work, and toil of our hands, becauje of the ground, which the
Lord hath turfed* Lantech might give his fon this name when he found
he had an extraordinary genius for agriculture, and was likely, by his
tifeful inventions, to diminiih the very great toil which had hitherto
attended the tillage of the earth. See chap. ix. 20, 21.
CHAP. XVIII.
Of the Deluge.
Gen. Chapters VI. and VII.
GEN. iv. 26. — then it was begun to call by the name of the Lord.
Or then, in the days of Enos, the family of Setb, which adhered
to God and his worfhip, began to give themfelves a denomination
cxpreflive of their relation and regards to God; that is to fay, to
afiume the title of the Sons, or Children of God, as in chap. vi. 2. in
order to diftinguifh and feparate themfelves from the irreligious fa-
mily of Cain, Which title was alfo ufed after the flood. Job i. 6.
ii. 1.
But (chap. vi. 1. which is in connexion with chap. iv. 26, the inter-
mediate chapter being a genealogical parenthefis) [But when men began
to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters zuere born unto them, &c]
The families of Setb and Cain, increafing and fpreading upon the earth,
at length met and unhappily mixed together. For the fons of God, by
the inftigation of ienfual appetite, without regard to reafon or religion,
joined themfelves in affinity to Cains impious pofterity, by marrying
their beautiful women ; the confequence of which was, that they were
foon corrupted by the profane converfation of their new relations.
The virtuous and godly, in marrying both themfelves and children,
fhould be careful to keep within the limits of religion. A wife is the
foundation of many other relations, and commonly has a great influence
upon a man and his family ; but it is a relation we can choofe for our-
felves : and in a cafe of fo great importance, we fhould neither follow
the luft of covctoufnefs, nor of carnal deiires, but the rules of religion,
and the fear of God.
Thus, notwithftanding the Divine Manifeftations, and the preaching
of Enoch and Noah, and, probably, of other good men, the contagion
of wickednefs by degrees infe&ed the whole earth, and turned it into a
fcene
Ch. XVIII. Of the Deluge. j£
fcene of impiety, lewdnefs, and injuftice. The ifTue of the aforefaid
diforderly marriages joined the word part ; and growing up without
any fenfe of religion and virtue, became wholly engaged in fenfual am-
bitious purfuits, and joining, or imitating a lewd and impious race of
giants, which were then in the earth, they affected to be men of re-
nown for great and valorous exploits, by all methods of oppreffion and
violence, Tubje&ing all others to their wills and lufts ; and every where
extinguishing a ienfe of God, both by their wicked, ungodly deeds, and
their hard, contumacious, blafphemousy/;^^* againft him, and his holy
laws, {Jude 15.) defpiling his goodnefs, and difdaining the reftraints of
his government ; till all the earth was corrupt bfore God, and filled with
violence, ver. 13. every imagination of the thought's of their hearts being only
evil continually, ver. 5 ; which cut off all hopes of their amendment,
their minds being wholly intent upon gratifying their ambition and
lull.
In relation to the fad condition of the world, the firft thing that
God declared, probably, from the Shechinah in the thin affembly of his
woiihippers, was this, (ver. 3.) My Spirit Jhall not always ftrive with
man, &c. This is the fpirit (1 Pet. iii. 19, 20.) by which our Lord went
and preached [not in perfon, but by fuch. preachers as Enoch and Noahy
2 Pet. ii. 5] unto the fpirit s [which are now, i. e. at the time of the
Apoftle's wiring] in prifon [confined in the (fate of the dead, and re-
served in fafe cultody to the day of judgment], which fometimes were dif-
obtdient in the d.iys of Noah, ivhile the ark was in preparing. My Spirit Jhall
not always (hive, or debate, with jnan, for his reformation, Mtrt r-iyyn
"W1 eo quod profe6f.o ille caro, feeing that really he is [nothing but]
flejh, altogether flefhly, void of all virtuous principles, and therefore un-
capable of being reformed by any means proper to be applied to a ratio-
nal nature. V iolence, or coadtion, cannot make him good, and he will
not attend to any methods of perfuafion. But where the reformation of
moral agents cannot be effected, it is fit and reafonable that they fhould
be deftroyed ; for it is to no purpofe to continue in being a race of crea-
tures, who live in direct oppofition to the perfections of God, and all
the wife and good ends of their creation; and who therefore might as
well never have been made at all, becaufe rendered utterly incapable of
honouring God their Maker, of enjoying themfelvcs, or being ufeful to
others. It muft be inconfiftent with the Divine Perfections, and all the
good and wife ends of his government, to make that life the objedf. of
his providential care and liberality, which is thus miferably perverted.
On the contrary, fuch are the nuifance, corruption, diforder, and
plague of the creation ; and for that reafon it is agreeable, not only to
juftice, but to goodnefs, and beneficence, that fuch fhould be removed
out of the creation. Hence it is, that God, fpeaking >33 mil 'by
D1K after the manner of men, is laid to repent, and to be grieved^ that
he bad made man on the earth, and was refolved to deftroy them. Ver.
6, 7.
Corollary I. Religion and virtue are the foul and fupport of the
univerfe; which being totally taken away, no reafon can be given why
any worlds or agents Ihould exift.
Corollary II.
;& Of the Deluge. Ch. XVIII.
Corollary II. The holy Scriptures, which allure us the wages of
fin is death, and conftantly affirm, that the impenitent workers of" ini-
quity fnall be deitroyed, do give us infallibly a juit and true account of
thing?, which demands the whole attention of our mi.
It was determined, becaufe it was fit, that the world fo vicious fliould
be deftroyed. And the great God mie,ht deftroy them in what way he
fhould judge molt proper, without any injuilice on his part, or on the
part of ajny agents which he might employ. He might have deftroyed
them by fire from heaven, as Sodom, &c. or by peitilence, or by de-
ftroying angels, I Cbron. xxi. 12, 27. 1 Cbron. xxxii. 21. Or he might
have given a commiffion to any one more righteous nation among them,
had there been any fuch, to deftroy all the reft by the fword, and a fight
to enter upon all their pofTeflioins, as in the cafe of the wicked Gana-
2. ix. 5. Lev. xviii. 26, &c. For the property of life,
and of .ions, belongs originally and absolutely to God alone.
But he chofe to deftroy them by a deluge, or general inundation.
Not that the Divine Wifdom intended to extirpate the human race;
the defign was not to extirpate, but to reform ; and therefore the Lord
was gracioufly pleafed to re (pi te the judgment, the impious world had
deferved, for 120 years, ver. 3. This was to iiiew bhat he had no plea-
lure in their deiiruelion, and to give them fpace for repentance, that
their ruin, if pollible, might be prevented. Thus the hng-fujfering of
God waited for the converlion of the dif obedient in the days of Noah, while
rjng, I Pet. iii. 20. Noah was air excellent perion,
aju/l .'•■ , who, like I ' /<h God, ver. 9. Him
ami his famil as pleafed gracioufly to preferve-j that from fo good
a ftock the n propagated, and religion restored
in the .m God purpoied to ejiabiijb bis covenant, or giant
of bleSngs, ver. 18. The grace of God to mankind, efpeciailv the
grand fcheme of redemption, was not to fail, or to be fufpended; there-
fore the Lord directed Noah to build a veiTel in fh.ipe like a large chelf,
every wa,y convenient for floating upon the waters, and for containing
creatures which it was to receive, w r« 3 .5. * [See Pierce on
h without delay exprejfed his. humble and entire faith
• aiming; and in obedience tp it, applied himfelf to the
the ark, for the faving of himfelf and family, (Heb. xi. 7.)
condemned the unbelieving and impenitent world, and
became heir cf the righteoufnefs, [or became intitled to the falvationj which
No' commonly, and, I think, juftly fuppofed to have been
120 years in building the ark, foj the tune the long-fUffer'mg of
God waited j which time of" long-iuffering was, while the ark was in
'ȣ, as in 1 Pet. iii. 20. At the beginning of this time, Noal/s
three fons, Shtm, Ham, and yapbet, were not born ; for Noah was now
but 4S0 years old, and none of his forefaid fons were born till he was
Yards.
* The length of the ark 300 equal to 450 equal to 150 at leaf:.
adth — 50 75 25.
The I — 30 45 15.
ch. xviTr. of the fa*$. "i
soo. chap. v. 32. And therefore that paragraph, ver. 17, kc, wherein
mention is made cf Noah's forts, Sbtm; Haiti, andfapbet, and their wives,
muft have been fpoken after the ark was finifhed.
When the ark was finiihed, and Noah and his family, the animals and
their food, fafe lodged in it, about the 6th of November, in the year of
the world 1656, by the mighty power of God, the fountains of the great
deeps were broken up, chap, v i i . 11. the fea overflowed, being prodi-
giously raifed by the violent irruption of the fubterrnncous waters ; and
rain came down from the fkv, not in drops, but in lhe.ims and fpouts,
the xvindows of heaven tare opened; and both together eafily prevailed over
the earth, and put it out of the. power of the wifefl and flrongeft of
men to relieve either themfeives or their friends.
And now, how were the carelefs and impenitent unbelievers fur-
prifed ! Conceive them fecurely going on in the ufual way of life,
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, Mat. xxiv. 375
feaftmgand revelling, thinking of nothing but fenfual enjoyments, in
contempt of every ierious admonition : when all on a fudden the molt
terrible rains and inundations threatened their inevitable deftrudtion.
How would they be terrified ! How would they condemn their own
unbelief, and be forced to own there was a jutt and righteous God,
who will execute vengea'nee on all the incurab.'e workers of iniquity!
This is a fpecimen of the final deftruclion of the ungodly at the laft
day, which God hath revealed. Let us not harden our hearts, but
believe and prepare.
Chap. vi. 17. And behold I, even I, by my own immediate operation,
do bring 7UDH a flood of waters upon the earth, to defray all fejb.
The word b)1£> in its primary fenfe, doth not include the idea of a
flood ; it comes from ^m which, with relation to plants and animals,
originally fignifies, to be foexhaufted of natural moifture and fpirits, in
which their life confifts, as to be withered, or dead. And it is applied
peculiarly to the deluge, and to nothing but that, under the notion of
extinction of life ; and fo the phrafe E3'D '"linn may be tranflated,
an extinction of life by waters, it is only ufed in Gen. chapters the 6th,
7th, 9th, 10th ; and in'Pfal. xxix. 10. The Lord Jitteth [2W* fat, or did
iitj upon, or at, the food, the extinction of life at the deluge. He then
fat upon the feat of judgment, executing vengeance upon that wicked
generation ; yea, the Lord Jitteth King for ever. Aintsworth upon Pfah
xxix. 10.
This difpenfation, as all the reft, had relation to the morals of man-
kind : and the evident deftgn of it was to lefTen the quantity of vice
and profanenefs, and to preferve and advance religion and virtue in the
earth ; the great end for which the earth, and man in it, were created.
This end it was well adapted to obtain in the then prefent ftate of
things, and in all future generations. In the prefent ftate of things,
it prevented a total corruption : for if the whole tainted part had not
been cut off, a fingle family would foon have been drawn in, or de-
ftroyed ; and then the whole globe muft have been ruined, and the
fchemesand purpofes of God, from the beginning of the world, had been
defeated. But by referving a felecl family for the continuation of the
human
7^ Of the Deluge. Ch. XVIII.
human fpecies, the fyftem of the Divine Counfels was preferved entire,
and the moft proper method was devifed for the eftablifhment of reli-
gion and virtue in the new world ; as the family of Noah enjoyed much
greater advantages for this end, than the family of Adam at the begin-
ning of things.
Noah was not, like Adam, a new unexperienced being, ignorant of
everything, but what he received from revelation. Noah, befides the
benefit of revelation, and intercourfe with heaven, had the whole com-
pafs of ancient antediluvian knowledge from the creation, in his own
poffeflion. He was a man of the moft eminent abilities, and the moil
fteady integrity. Adam was eafily feduced ; but in the midft of an uni-
verfal degeneracy, Noah firmly adhered to truth and religion ; and wnen
he was warned of God to prepare the ark, even i 20 years before the de-
luge, or any appearances of it, fo ftrong was his faith, or perfuafion of
the Divine Power, Juftice, and Veracity, that he applied himfelf to the
work, and completed it, funounded as he was with the infidelity and
contempt of all the world. A man of fo much underflanding, and of
fuch a fpirit, would not fail to communicate all he knew to his pofte-
rity, nor to inculcate it ftrongly upon their hearts.
But his family, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, with their wives, were eye-
witnefTes of the dreadful inundation, and had the moft affecting proof of
their own deliverance. They refided full twelve months in the ark,
from the beginning of the deluge to the end of it. And it is eafy to
conceive how they would be affected in fuch a moving fituation. They
knew this fhocking cataftrophe was not an unfortunate accident, but
occafioned by the wickednefs of the world ; therefore all the terrors of
the deluge muft give them the moft fenfible perception of the malignant
nature of wickednefs, that it is infinitely odious to God, and dreadfully
pernicious to Tinners. They muft be convinced of the uncontrol-
able power and dominion of the Moft High, the impoflibility of esca-
ping his vengeance, what a fearful thing it is to fall into his hands, and
how much they were obliged, both in intereft and duty, to reverence
and obey him.
On the other hand, their prefervation from fo terrible a calamity, in
the midft of the ruins of all the world befides, muft be a very ftriking
demonstration of God's favour and compaffion to themfelves ; which
was naturally adapted to make the deepeft impreflions of gratitude, love,
and duty ; efpecially as they could not but be fenlible, that fuch a
great and miraculous deliverance was particularly owing to the eminent
piety of their father, Gen. vii. i. Thus they would be well prepared
and difpofed to acknowledge and admit the excellency of thofe princi-
ples and practices which had been, through Divine Goodnefs, their Se-
curity in the general defolation.
And when they left the ark, all the difmal appearances of the defo-
liate world, the ruins of palaces, towns, and cities, the fadly changed
face of countries, which they had feen in a cultivated, flourishing ftate,
the bones of men and other animals, ftrewed over all the face of the
earth, would have a natural tendency to fix upon their minds the good
imprefllons they had received in the ark, and render them folicitous to
inculcate the principles of religion upon their children. Add to all
this,
Ch. XIX. Of Noah's Sacrifice. *o
this, that AW;, who lived 349 years after the flood, and whofe pious
admonitions would be of much greater weight and authority than
when he was an unfuccefsfui preacher of righteoufnefs to the antedilu-
vians, was the inftru&or, and, for fome time at leaf!:, the governor of
the new world.
From all this it will appear, that this was a very juft and proper dif-
pcnfation for reforming mankind, and reftoring religion in the earth ;
well adapted to that thoughtlefs age, (when they feem not to have at-
tained to any confiderable degree of reafoning, and therefore not dif-
pofed to be wrought upon by argument) and to the ftate of things in
it, when no regular civil governments and laws were formed for the ad-
minifrration of jufcice, and the reftraint of injury and wrong; and it
appears to have had the intended effecl:, by fuppreffing violence and ra-
pine, which never any more univerfally prevailed in the world ; and
by fixing a fenfe of religion upon the minds of men, which afterwards
was indeed perverted, but not quite extinguifhed. And as it ftands re-
corded in facred writ, it is a warning to the remoteft generations. In
which view it is referred to, 2 Pet. ii. 5. And [God] fp area not the old
world, but faved Noah, the eighth perfon, a preacher of righteoufnefs^
bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly j and turning the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrha into ajhes — making them an example unto thoft
that afterwards Jhould live ungodly.
CHAP. XIX.
Of Noah'* Sacrifice, and the Divine Intercourfe on that Occafm*
Gen. viii. to the End of the 9th Chapter.
"\jOAH, being reftored to the pofleffion of the earth, entered upon
**■ * it with a folemn aft of Divine Worfhip, according to the origi-
nal inftitution, Gen. viii. 20. He builded an altar unto the Lord, and
took of 'every clean beafi, and of every clean fowl, i.e. of fuch beafts and
fowls as God hath ordained for Sacrifices, and offered Burnt-Offerings
upon the Altar ; which as they were intended to denote, fo they were
in Noah accompanied with, faith in the mercy of God, thankfulnefs
for the late miraculous deliverance, and the dedication of himfelf, and
of all his, to the honour and obedience of God, through the pro-
mifed Redeemer; of whom Noah and the Patriarchs, we may well fup-
pofe, had a general knowledge and expectation. The Acceptablenefs
of this a£t of devotion to God, is fignified by \\\% fmelling a fweet Javour9
mn n»~» ver. 21. This one may call Hieroglyphic language. Hiero-
glyphics, which by bodily fenfations, or external reprefentations, denoted
abftra<a
£0 Of Noah's Sacrifice. Cr-i. XIX.
abftract notions, or the fentiments of the mind, were the literature of
the fir ft ages of the world. So here, the approbation of the judgment,
or what is pleafing to the mind, is fignificd by an odour or fragrance
grateful to the fmell. Or the tafte and relifh of the body is transfer-
red to the tafte and relifh of the mind. This language is frequently
ufed in the Levitical law ; as in Lev. i. 9, 13, 17. ii. 2, 9. iii. 5, &c.
meaning the acceptablenefs of the Sacrifice or Offering. So the fra-
grance of burnt incenfe reprefents the acceptablenefs of fincere prayer,
Pjal. cxli. 2. Luke i. 10. Rev. viii. 3,4.
It is alfo applied, in the fame ftnic, to the offering and facrifice of our
Lord, Ephcf. v. 2. dnd walk in love, as Cbriji alfo bath loved us, andhatb
given bimfelf for us, an Offering and Sacrifce to God for a fweet-jmelling
favour. God, who is a fpirit, can relifh, or be pieafed with, only that
which is morally or fpiritually good, the love and obedience of the
heart : this is the only favour that is grateful to him. And therefore,
the Sacrifice of our Lord muff, have been an actual exhibition of obe-
dience and love ; and the Sacrifices of Noah, and of the lfaelites, muft
have been hieroglyphic rcprofentations of, or instructions in, the like
moral difpofitions, in order to exprefs, or produce them in the hearts of
the worfhippers. Smelling a fweet favour is plainly hieroglyphic or figu-
rative language; and therefore the Sacrifice, or Offering, the object
of fuch fmelling, muft alfo be figurative, reprefenting thoi'e good difpo-
fitions which were, or ought to have been, in the worfhipper's heart,
and which were in the higheft and moft perfect degree in our Lord.
The Sacrifice of a clean beaft or fowl figuratively reprefented what the
worfhipper was, or ought to be and do ; and our Lord really was, and
perfectly did what the Sacrifice reprefented. Hence Sacrifice is applied
to beneficent actions, or actions morally good, and pleafing to God,
Pfal. iv. 5. 1.14,23. Phil. iv. 18. Heb. xiii. 15, 16. And in the Book
of TV if do m is applied to the whole of a virtuous life, as gold in the furnace
hath he tried them, [afflicted good men,] and received them as a Burnt"
Offering.
The fmell, or favour, of a perfon, or thing, is the quality of it, good
or evil, which occafions the approbation or diflike of thofe that pafs a
judgment upon it. Exod. v. 21. Tou have made 13HH our favour, that in
us which is the object: of Pharaoh's judgment, to be abhorred, to ftink,
in the eyes, the opinion, of Pharaoh. So Gen. xxxiv. 30. Jer. xlviii.
II. Moab hath been at ea/e from his youth, and he hath fettled on his lees,
—therefore his talle, lDj/0 his relifh remaineth in him, and his J edit, \ry\
his favour, his bad qualities, is not changed. 2 Cor. ii. 14, i§, 16. Now
thanks he unto God, who always caufeth us to triumph in Chrijl, and maketh
manifijl, difplays, the favour, rw ar[/#v the excellent qualities, f his
knowledge, the knowledge of Chrift, by us in every place. For %ue are to
God, tvw&oLv, the fweet-fmellitig favour cf Chrift, [1. e. my miniftry is to
God a Sacrifice of a fwcet-fmelling favour, which I offer unto him on
the behalf of Chrift. See Rom. xv. 16. J both in regard of them that are
faved, and alfo f them that ferifi). [For in both cafes the counfels and
jfchemes of Divine Wifdom are accomplifhed.] Though to the one we
are, ooyn, the favour of death unto death -3 and to the other zve arc the favour
Ch. XIX. Of Noah's Sacrifice, 8l
tf life unto life. [i.-e. to the minds of the one my preaching is ofFenfive;
and rejecting it, they are advancing towards eternal death : to the minds
of the other it is grateful and pleafing; and embracing it, they are ad-
vancing towards life eternal.] And ivho is Juffcimt for thefe things of fo
great confequence? Note — A faviour of death unto deathy is a faviour
which occailons their advancing towards eternal d;-ath.
Upon the folemn occafion of Noah's Sacrifice, the Lord faid in his
heart, i. e. determined, or refolved, that he would not aga:n curf,- the
ground any more for mans fake; (chap. viii. 21.) for [o though] the
imagination of man s heart is [fliould bej evil from his youth. From his
youth, denotes a corruption of manners of long continuance. See Ifai.
xlvii. 12, 15. Jer. iii. 25. Ezek. xxiii 8. See alio Job xxxi. 18. The
Lord was alfo pleafed to repeat to Noah and his fons the fame blefling
upon the propagation of the human fpecies, and the fame marks of di-
ftin£tion upon our nature, as he had given Adam at his creation, with
an additional grant of animal food, (chap. ix. 3, 4 ) with this reftric-
tion, that they fhould not eat the flefh of an animal in the life thereof9
the blood thereof '; or that they fliould not eat any flefh cut off from any
animal while it is alive. Ac the fame time God made a covenant with
Noah, and with every living creature, or he made a free and abfolute
grant or promife to them, that all flefh fhould not any more be cut off with
the waters of a flood. Of which more hereafter.
What is here particularly to be obferved is, the inftiturion of magif-
tracy, and the punifhment of murder. Ver 6. fVhofo Jheds man 's blood,
by manjhall his blood bejhed. Ver. 5. And fur cly your blood of your lives will
I require, at the hand of every beafl will I require it ; and at the hand of man%
at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. The btaft
that killed, or the man that murdered a man, is hcr^. commanded to be
put to death by man, i. e. by the magiftrate or judge. Here courts of
judicature are authorized, not only for the punilhment of murder, but,
by parity of reafon, of any other great offences which may effect life
nearly as much as murder.
This feems to be the original inflitution of magiflracy, of which we
have not hitherto the leaft intimation in the facred hiftory. On the con-
trary, it appears from the cafe of Cain, (Gen. iv. 15.) and of Lamech9
(Gen. iv. 23, 24.) that murder, the greateft of crimes, was left to be
punifhed as God in his providence fhould fee fit. And if murder, much
more every leffer inftance of injury. It feems probable, there were no
feparate ftates, nor regular governments, among the antediluvians ; but
that, as they fpread over the face of the earth, they removed further from
the place of public worfhip, loft a fenfe of God, and lived in a difor-
derly manner, exercifing violence and outrage, as they had power; and
were inftigated by lull, avarice and revenge, till the earth wa> filled with
violence. Which, I apprehend, could not have been the cafe, under
laws and governors armed with power to reftrain outrage and injufhee;
for though governors themfelves, and their creatures, may be tyranni-
cal and oppreflive, yet, for their own fecurity, they will not fuffer their
fubjech to break out into anarchy and licentious invafion of life and
propertv, becaufe this is open rebellion againft governors. The ftate of
Vol.' I. F the
82 Of Noah's Sacrifice. Ch. XIX.
the old world, probably, was like that of the Israelites, when there was
no king, no magiftrate among them, but every man did that vsbtfb was
right in his own eyes, Jud. xxi. 25. Which proves the poflibility of fuch.
a licentious ftate, and the fhocking diforders that would attend it.
The leaving mankind, in the firft ages of the world, in this loofe and
difcretionary ftate, certainly, was not to lead them into wickednefs ;
but I conceive, to teach them by experience the neceffity of laws and
governors, and the reafonablenefs of fubmitting to them. [See Chap.
III. § IV. the Corollary.] For even upon the contrary fuppofition,
that magiftracy, in fome form or other, was inftituted from the beginning
of Zhe world, yet it is plain, that mankind in thofe ages would not bear
the yoke, but univerfally {hook it off. Nor could government, in fa£r,
be permanently eftabliihed, till the ruin of the world demonftrated the
neceffity of it. Therefore, if God did not fee fit to eftablilh magiftracy
from the beginning, it was becaufe he knew mankind would not bear
the reftraints of government with a rational confent and approbation
(without which confent and approbation, at leaft from the majority,
government could not have been either erected or fupported), till fad ex-
perience had taught them the utility and importance of it. Thus a par-
ticular fpecies of injuftice, and even of murder, is permitted under our
prefent difpenfation, and, inftead of being reftrained, is eftablifhed by
law; I mean perfecution, or the taking away of life for difference of
fentiments in religion, which fubfifts in moil Chriftian countries. And
this, I apprehend, the wifdom of God has permitted, that Chriftians at
length may be rationally convinced of the monftrous iniquity of fuch
practice, and fo be generally induced by the fenfe of their own minds
to approve and choofe goodnefs, love and mutual forbearance; which
we hope will be the genius and happy temper of the next enfuing difpen-
fation. This is the only method of moral improvement, namely, when
the mind, by proper methods, is led to apprehend, and freely embrace,
•what is right and fit; and, 1 doubt not, takes place in the gradual advan-
ces of all, or of any part of mankind in wifdom, as well as of particu-
lar fingle perfons. This, with what hath been laid before, is the beft
account I can give of this antediluvian difpenfation.
N. B. The curfe upon Canaan, ver. 25. is to be underftood as af-
fecting only the temporal circumftances of his potterity, a fervant offer-
vants~Jha!l be be. As in Dent, xxviii. 16, 17, tffc. Cur fed /ball be thy baj-
ket and thy Jhre. Nor is it to be confidered in Noah as a malevolent
wifh, or imprecation, but fimply as a prediction of the future ftate of
Ham's pofterityj as appears from the whole of Noah's difcourfe, which
is plainly prophetic.
C H A P. XX.
Ch. XX. Of the Difperfion at the Tower of Babe!.
CHAP. XX.
Of the Dispersion at the Tower of Babel.
Gen. x.
ERE Mofes gives an account how the earth was peopled by the
feveral families, or dependents of Noah's three fons, Shem, Ham,
H
and Japhet, ver. 32. For the particulars of this curious account
confult the Commentators, efpecially Bp. Patrick. What I would
obferve is this That, after the account of the feveral nations de-
scended from each of Noah's ions, it is added, as in ver. 5. By thefe
dependents of Japhet, were the ifks, or tranfmarine countries, of the Gen-
tiles divided in their feveral lands ; every one after his tongue, or language,
after their families, in their nations. The fame is faid ver. 20, 31, of
the pofterity of Ham and Shem. Which plainly fignifies, that they did
not all fpeak the fame language j but that the defcendents from
Noah's fons, at leaft in general, if not feveral of the particular nations,
had a language peculiar to themfelves, dutincl: from the reft, and unin-
telligible to them. Noah and his pofterity, while they lived together
after~the flood, which muft be for fome confiderable time, could have
but one and the fame language amongft them. How they came to have
different languages, and how they were feparated into feveral diftant
countries, by a very memorable event, Mofes relates in the next chapter.
When Noah's family was numerous enough, probably the Lord, by
the mouth of Noah, commanded them to feparate into different countries,
particularly fpecihed, that the earth might be better cultivated and go-
verned. Certainly their divifion and removal into diftant countries {Gen.
x. 5.) muft have been a general public ac"t. And, as Mofes faith, the
earth was divided into nations inPeleg's days, (ver. 25, 32.) itfeems to
imply, that it was done by a divine command, and not accidentally, as
any might choofc a more convenient lituation. Which is more clearly
exprefled,./>*«f. xxxii. 8. where it is faid, when the Moft High divided to the
nations their inheritance, when he feparated the feons of Adam, [referring to
this divifion of the earth] hefet the bounds of the people, the adjacent na-
tions, according to the number of the future children of Iferael, leaving for
them a convenient fituation, and room fufficient. In profecution of this
defign, the whole earth, except perhaps the eldeft Patriarchs, and
their attendants, journeying from the mother-colony towards the weft,
and finding a fpacious fruitful vale in the land of Shinar, there they
determined to fettle, and build a city and a tower, reaching up to heaven,
or of a very great height. Deut. i. 28. ix. 1. Pfal. cvii. 25, 26. [An
hyperbole.]
Their intention was to male themfelves a name, and to prevent their
being fecattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth, (ver. 4. ) as God had
probably ordered they fhould. The fcheme was to keep together, and
F 2 very
84 °f t}>e Dijper/m Ch. XX.
very likely under one one head. Scbultens, upon Job i. I. derives E2W a
name, from the Arahic verb noty or NDtt> to be high, elevated, eminent.
And according to him, the primary and proper notion of CDii' is a
mark or fign, (landing out, riflng up, or expofed to open view; a
Handing mark or title of diftinclion and eminence. 2 Sam. vii. 73. •
and to make him a name, a monument of honour and eminence, chap. viii.
13. I Kin, v. 3, 5. build an houfe unto, or for, the name, honour, emi-
nent diltn.ction of tie Lord, to denote that he is the only true God, and
King of the Ifraeiites, I Kings viii. 16, 29. I Chron. xvii. 21. to make
thee a name, a monument, tfgreatnefs and terriblcnefs. Ifai. xviii. 7. lv. 13.
— it JJjall be to the Lord for a name, i. e. for an everlajling fign, that JJjall
not be cut off', chap, lxiii. 12, 14. So in this place, Gen. xi. 4. — and let
us, fay the heads or leaders, make us a name, a monument or token of
fuperiority and eminence, I conceive to fignify to all fucceeding gene-
rations, that they were the true original governors, to whom all mankind
ought to be in fubjeclion; left other leaders ftarting up fhould carry off
parties, and fo break the body, and fet up feparate governments. It
ieems to have been a piece of iiate-policy, to keep all mankind together,
under the prefent chiefs and their fucceffors. And the lofty Tower was
probably intended to command every part of the town, and keep off
any body of men, that fhould attempt to break in upon them.
But God, whofe wifdom perfectly forefaw the mifchievous effects of
fuch an attempt, determined to fruftrate and defeat it. By this fcheme
a great part of the earth muft for a long time have been uninhabited, un-
cultivated, and overrun with beggary and wild beafts; which, as it
was, for a long time, according to ancient authors, exercifed the induf-
try and valour of the primitive heroes in hunting and fubduing them.
It was thus Nimrcd, that mighty hunter, gained his renown. Gen. x. 9.
He uas a mighty hunter before the Lord. Which is an Hebrew phrafe, to
fignify the greater}, and moft eminent thing of any kind. Acls vii. 20.
ArEio? tw Gsa, exceeding fair; 2 Cor. viii. I. T^ ;#^iv t« Oea, the very great
liberality be/lowed by the churches of Macedonia, chap. x. 4. Awoctx to 6e«,
exceeding powerful. Pfalm lxxx. 10, u.^X "TIN the cedars of God, the
goodly cedars.
Moft probably the bad effects which this project would have had upon
the minds, the morals, and religion of mankind, was the chief reafon why
God interpofed to crufh it as foon as it was formed. It manifeftly had a
direct tendency to tyranny, oppreflion, and flavery. Whereas, in form-
ing feveral independent governments by a fmall body of men, the ends
of government, and the fecurity of liberty and property, would be much
better attended to, aiid more firmly eftablifhed; which, in fact, was ge-
nerally the cafe, if we may judge of the reft, by the conftitution of one
of the'moft eminent, the kingdom of Egypt. Gen. xlvii. 15 — 27. The
Egyptians were mafters of their perfons and properties, till they fold them
to Pharaoh for bread : and then their fervitude amounted to no more
than the fifth-part of the produce of the country, as an annual tax pay-
able to the king ; which is not near fo much as we, with all ourEnglifh
liberties, pay yearly to the church and government.
Corruption may creep into religion under any conftitution; but tyranny
and defpotic power is the leadieft and fureft way to deprive men of
the ufc of undemanding and confeience; and vice and idolatry would
have
Ch. XX. at the Tower of Babel 85
have fprcad much fafter, had the whole world, in one body, been under
the ablblute dominion of vicious, infolent, idolatrous monarchs. This
would have been a ftate of things juft in the oppofite extreme to the
antediluvian licentioufnefs, and would have been nearly as pernicious to
virtue j as it muft have funk mankind into the baleft fervility of mind,
and have ftocked the earth with a mean-fpirited race of mortals, who durft
not open their own eye?, make any generous ufe of their own faculties,
or relifh the bounty of heaven with pleafure and thankf ulnefs. Hy.uru yug
r a^.Triq uTTooavvTca SuXiov sjjuag, faith Homer (OdyiT. p. ver. 32/. )
Whatever day makes a man a Jlave, takes half his worth away. ** Thus
" I have heard, faith Longinus, Sect. XLiV. if what I have heard in
" this cafe deferve credit, that the cafes in which dwarfs are kept, not
" only prevent the future growth of thofe who areencloied in them, but
u alfo diminifh what bulk they already have, by too clofe conftriition
" of their parts. So flavery, be it never fo eafy, yet is flavery (till ; and
" may defervedly be called, the prifon of the foul, and the public
*' dungeon."
For thefe wife and beneficent reafons, I prefume, the Divine Pro-
vidence interpofed, and baffled the project; which, in the then circum-
ilancesof the projectors, would otherwife have been unhappily fuccefs-
ful, by confounding and altering their language in inch manner, as that
they could not underftand one another; and fo were obliged to defiffc
from the work they had begun, to feparate into many fmalier bodies,
and to feek for fettlements at a dutance from each other, as the feveral
companies, by the famenefs of fpeech, were capable of convening
together, and poffibly in the very countries which God had marked out
for them.
1 hus the contagion of wickednefs, for fome time at leaft, had bounds
fet to it ; evil example was confined, and could not ftretch its influence
beyond the limits of one country ; nor could wicked projects be carried
on with univerfai concurrence by many little colonies, i' parateu by the
natural boundaries of mountains, rivers, deferts, feas, and hindered from
aiTnciating together by a variety of languages unintelligible to each,
other. And further, in this difperfed itate, they would, whenever God
pleafed, be made checks reciprocally upon each other by invafions and
wars ; which would weaken the power, and humble the pride of corrupt
and vicious communities. This difpenfation', therefore, w^s properly
calculated to prevent a fecond univerfai degeneracy. God therein
dealing with men as rational agents, and fuiting his fcheme to their
prefent ftate and circumftances. This Difperfion probably happened
about 240 years of the flood,
F3 CHAP.
86 Of the Council of God. Ch. XXI.
CHAP. XXL
Of the TiD Council of God; or a Critleifm upon thofe Words*
Let us go down, Gen. xi. 7.
ALL allow, that the Lord's coming down to fee the City and Tower ,
Gen. xi. 5, is to be understood ai<9§w7zw«9i>s by way of accom-
modation to our conceptions; and means no more, but that by the
effects, he made it appear, that he cbferved their motions, and knew
their intentions. This is a very common, and in our prefent embodied
irate, a very proper way of reprefenting the actions of Deity. But
when Jehovah is reprelented as faying, Go to, let us go down, verfe 7,
as before, chap. i. 26, he had faid, L.t us make man, &c. learned men
have fuppofed, that this is to be taken literally, and that God here fpake
to fome beings included in his own nature and fubftance. Whereas this
alfo is a figure of fpeech, which is to be undertlood as the foregoing.
Kings tranfacf. their moft important affairs in a folcmn council. Hence,
God is pleafed to reprefent himi'elf as having likewife his IIP or privy
council. And the determinations of his Providence are defcribed, after
the manner of men, as having been made in that Council, in order to
exprefs the wifdom, importance, and certainty of them. Thus, and
for this purpofe, Jehovah is here, and in Gen. i. 26, reprefentcd as fpeak-
ing in his Council, Let us make man, let us go down, and there confound
their language.
Of this Council, I apprehend, Job (peaks, chap. xxix. 4. when
the fecret Council *nD3 of God was upon my tabernacle ; when the auguft
Aflembly, where God's C'unfels and Decrees are palTeJ, was held, as it
were over my habitation ; and it fee-fried to be his peculiar care to profper
me and my family. To this Council the Prophets in vifion are fuppofed
to be admitted as ftanders-by, and hearers of what is there decreed, and
refolved upon. Job xv. 8. ynii'D ni^>N *11P3n hajl thou heard, or
been a hearer, in the fecret Council of God, Jer.xxiii. 17, 18. They, the
falfe prophets, fay fill unto them that defpife me, the Lord hath faid, Yefiyjll
have peace ; and they fay unto every one that walketh after the imagination of
bis own heart, No evil pall come unto you. mil' 1TD3 IDp >D O For
who hath food [as a waiter, or fervant, ready to carry God's meffages to
his people. So *rny "pn >rob one that Hands befoie the King, is pro-
perly the King's Minifter. And when Elifha faith (2 Kings, iii. 14.),
as the Lordliveth, before whom Ijland, he means, whofe Minijler I am.) in
the fee ,t Council, or Aflembly, of Jehovah, and hath fecn and heard his
word? ct. d. Which of you hath been wrapt in vifion, and admitted as a
ftander-by and hearer in that great Aflembly, where God's Councils are
held, and hath brought a mefiage to his people from thence ? No, you
go
Ch. XXI. -Of the Council ef -God. 87
go prefumptuoufly with mefTages of your own heads. Verfe 21. I have
notfent thefe prophets, yet they ran : 1 have not fpoken to them, yet they pro-
pbefled. niD3 n?3tf DN1 But if they had flood in my Council, and had
caufedmy people to hear my words, then tht.y Jhould have turned them from their
evil way, and from the evil of their doings. This connexion of the Pro-
phets with the Council of God, may ferve to explain Jonah's Seeing from
the pre fence of, or from before, the Lord, Jon. i. 2. He was fent upon a
frightful and dangerous meifage; but as he judged, I fuppofe, that the
Council of God was held in no other land but that of Ifrael, he hoped
to break off his connexion with it, by removing to a remote country
among the Gentiles.
The vifion of Micaiah (1 Kings xxii. 19 24.) will fet this affair
in the ftrongeft light. And he /aid, Hear thou the word of the Lord: I
jaw the Lord fitting on his throne, and all thchojl of heaven f landing by himy
on his right hand and on his left. And the Lordfaid, Whojhallperfuade Ahaby
that he may go up, and fall at Ratnoth Gilead? And one [aid on this man-
ner, and another on that manner. And there cayne forth a fpirit, and flood
before the Lord, and faid, I will perfuade him. And the Lordfaid unto him9
JVherewith ? And he f aid, I will go forth, and I will be a lying fpirit in the
mouth of all his prophets. And he faul, Thou flialt perfuade him, andprevail
alfo : go forth and do fa. Here the Lord is fhewn in Council, after the
manner of men, deliberating upon this affair. Now, whether there was
any fuch real confultation is not neceilary for us to inquire. Thus it
was reprefented in all its circumftances to the prophet, and ftampt upon
his mind in vifion ; and it was God who directed him to ufe it in this
form, as appears plainly from the folemn introduction, Hear thou there-
fore the word of the Lord. And though it fhouid only be a parabolical
vifion, yet the drift and fubfrance of it was a divine infallible truth,
namely, that Ahab\ prophet prophefied lies ; and this by the Divine
Permiffion, and the inftigati n of the wicked fpirit, who was a liar from
the beginning, and the father of lies.
A pafTage fimilar to this, is that in the book of Job, chap. i. 6.
Now there was a day when the Sons of God, Angels, came to prefent
themfelves before the Lord, and Satan came alfo among them. And the
Lord faid unto Satan, Whence comejl thou f Then Satan anfwered the
Lord, &c. And again, chap. ii. 1, &c. Here we fee is the fame
grand aflembly in the cafe of Job, as in the foregoing inftance
of Ahab. The fame hoft of heaven, called here the Sons of God, pre-
fenting themfelves before Jehovah, as in the vifion of Micaiah they are
faid to Hand on his right hand and on his left. A wicked fpirit appears
among them, here called Satan, an adverfary, and there a lying Jpi'it ,
both of them bent on mifchief, and ready to do hurt, as far as God
fhouid give them leave. And the meaning in both cafes is the fame,
that God in his wife providence permitted Satan to afflict Job, and the
lying fpirit to deceive Ahab. Only Micaiah delivers his representation
as a Prophet, in the exercife of his office, and as he received it, that
is to fay, in a vifion ; I faw the Lord fitting en his throne, Sic. The
other [probably Job himfelf, who was not unacquainted with the
Council of God, as we have feen], as an hiflorian, interweaves it with
the hiftory in the plain, narrative ftile, There was a day, Sic. The things
F 4 delivered
88 Of the Council of God. Ch, XXL
delivered to us by both thefe facred writers, are in fubftance the fame,
equally high, and above the reach of mere human fight and knowledge.
Note the reprefentations of this kind are founded in the doctrine of
Angel?, good and bad, efpecially the former, as the inftruments of Pro-
vidence. A point revealed, no doubt, from the beginning, and well
underftocd in the earlieft ages ; witnefs Jacob's ladder, with the Angels of
Godafcending and defending upon it. Gen. xxviii. 12.
Ifaiah alio in n vili n ftood in the Council of God, chap. vi. r, &c.
Where I e faw the Lord fitting upon a throne, high and if ted up, and his train
filed the temple Above it food the Seraphim, the angelic holt, &c. The
matter in confutation was, verfe 7. IVhomfhall I fend, and who will go
upon the proph' tic errand for us, ufing deliberative language, and the
plural number, as in the two texts under confideration, Let us make man
Let us go down. Ifaiah readily offered his fervice, verfe 8.
And the Lord delivered to him his commiffion and meflage, verfe 9.
And he f.ir:, Go and tell this people, &c.
Lzekiel in the fame maimer in vifion flood in the Council of the Lord,
chap. i. 1. The heavens were (i.e. the temple was) opened, and I faw
vlfons of God \ namely, the four living creatures, or Cherubims, repre-
senting ihe church of God attending upon the glory of the Lord, or the
JShechinah, verfe 28, and feated upon a throne, verfe 26. And I v fa id
v.nto Ezckiel, chap. ii. 3. Son of man, I fend thee to the children of
Jfrael, Life.
Zechariah, too, chap. i. 7, 8, &c. to the end of the fixth chapter, is
reprefentcd as converfing with the Lord in his Council, and with an
Angel ; though the fcene is not defcribed fo diftinctly as in the other
places.
John alfo in the fpirit, i.e. in a vifion, Rev. i. 10, was prefent in the
fame Council of Gud, defcribed in the 4th and 5th chapters of the Re*
velatlcn, chap, i v. 1. A door was opened in heaven, in the temple ; John
was invited to attend, a throne was fct in heaven, with a majeftic Per-
foliate upun it, attended by the Cherubim, cr the Church, and the
Angelic Hoft. The matter, which was there very folemnly tranfaded,
was the future ft ate of the Church, to the end of the world.
This is the prophetic way of telling us how a thing was done, which
rea'ly was done, but in a way to us invifible. Thus things of thegreateft
importance were rcprefentfd in the flrongcft images to the mind of the
Prophet ; and in this way Infinite Wifdom would have them defcribed
and reprefented to us. Nor fhould we quarrel with our Maker for
creating us with fuch faculties as are mo ft afTtcleJ and imprdled with
truths that are conveyed in this manner j for thofe truths make the
deer t ft impreffion which fnft enter like a piclure into the imagination,
and fr< m tlv nee are ftamped upon the memory.
Note Homer, previoufly to Events, reprefents the confutations
of his fictitious deities in the fame narrative way, to denote, that all
thing* are fubject to an over-ruling Providence. A method practifed
long before him, and very probably derived from the triily-infpired.
I (hall only further obferve, (1.) That TD is fometimes applied to
worfhipping affemblies, Ifal. Ixxxix. 7. cxi. 1. (2.) Sometimes it
fgnirks the thing that is tranfadted, commanded, or dtabiiihed in the
Council
C H . X XII . Of the Patriarchal Religion. 89
Council of God. Pfal. xxv. 14. Prov. iii. 32. So it may be under-
itood, Amos iii. 7. 'The Lord God will do nothing ; but he rcvealeth HID
bisfecret Council unto hisfervants the Prophets.
CHAP. XXII.
Of the Patriarchal Religion.
WE fhould now advance to the next Divine Difpenfation, the cal-
ling of Abraham •, but, before we proceed, it may be of ufe to
gain the ckareft nocions we are able of the ftate of Religion among
the nations after the deluge.
About 425 years after the deluge, and 185 after the difperfion, the
Lord [aid unto Abraham, (Oen. xii. 1.) Get thee out of thy country, which
was tJr of the Chaldees, {Gen. xi. 28.) and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's houfe, unto a land that I will Jhew thee. Compare this with
fojh xxiv. 2. f of hua J aid unto all the people, thus faith the Lord God of
Jfrael, your fathers dwelt on the other fide of the flood j in Mefopotamia, be-
yond h • river Euphrates'], in old time, evenTerah, the father of Abraham,
and the father of hlachor ; and they ferved other Gods; that is to fay, they
■were idoLters. Some learned men luppofe, that in the days olReu, i. e.
fome time before the year 370, after the deluge, the Egyptians and Ba-
bylonians began to introduce idolatrous prigciples and practices; which,
from the fore-quoted place in Jojhua, it is certain, crept into the family
of Shem; fome, and fome of the principal of his pofterity, growing
vain in their imaginations, and worfhipping the heavenly bodies, with a
divine, or however with an undue honour. For this fpecies of idolatry
feems to have been the moft ancient, as this, and no other, is mentioned
in the book of fob. Chap. xxxi. 26, 27, 28. If I have beheld the fun when
it Jhined, or the mocn walking in brightnefs; and my heart hath been fecretly
enticed, or my mouth hath kifjed my hand: this alfo were an iniquity to
be punijhed by the judge, for I fhould have denied the God that is above.
The woifhip of the heavenly bodies is fuppofed to have prevailed
among the nations in the days of Mofes, Deut. iv. 19. xvii. 3. and was
continued long after, 2 Kings xxi. 3, 5. xxiii. 4. Jer. xliv. 17, 19. The
fplendour and great utility of the heavenly bodies would naturally ftrike
the minds of mankind ; and there would not then, any more than at any
other time, be wanting artful men, who for their own advantage, and
the honour of fuperior wifdom, would fupply arguments for this idolatry,
as the moft effectual mean of ^curing all the enjoyments of life, and in-
culcate them ftrongly upon the minds of the weak and credulous, who
have always been the moft numerous part of mankind. Maimonidesy
the learned Jew, (as quoted by Ainsworth upon Gen. iv. 26.) fup-
pofes the advocates of this corrupt worfhip argued after this manner.
They
yd Of the Patriarchal Religion. Ch. XXH.
•' They faid For as much as God-hath created thefe heavenly bodies,
•c to govern the world, and fet them on high, and imparted honour unto
•* them, and they are Minifters that miniiter before him, it is meet that
" men (hould praife, and glorify, and give them honour. For this is the
M will of God, that we magnify and honour whomfoever he magnifieth
*' and honourr th ; even as a king would have them honoured, that ftand
w before him ; and this is honouring the king himielf. When this thing
*' was come up into their hearts, they began to build temples to hea-
*e venly bodies, and to praife and glorify them with words, and towor-
*' fhip before them, th;,t they might, in their mifsuided opinion, obtain
** favour of the Creator." Thus you fee, the firft corrupters of Reli-
gion had principles and reafons ; arid perhaps as good as thofe who
have in like manner corrupted Chnfiianity, by introducing idolatry
into it.
This corruption was not at firft uuiverfal, it fpread gradually. And
therefore, though in Abraham's days it had made a considerable progrefs,
yet even then, and for fome time after, we meet with fome eminent per-
sons, who were hot of Abraham** family, that retained a juft fenfe ot Cod,
and the purity of his worfliip. For inftance, Melckiz-cdeck, king of Salemy
Gen. xiv. 18. who was .(Heb. vii. 3.) iiitbout father, without moti r,
without defcent, aytviateyrfa, without a genealogy, having neither begin'
big of clays, nor end cf 'life, recorded in the hiftory of the Patriarchs from
h'oab to Abraham. For (ver. 6.) his dej cent, or genealogy, was not ccurJed
from them, in the Abrahamic line; but for ali thai, he was a perfon of
great eminence in religion. Gen. xiv. 18, &c. " For he was a wor-
*f fhipper of the true God, and a perfon of the mod exemplary juftice,
" and fincere piety, remaining absolutely untainted, amidft the general
*' corruption of the country in which he lived; and who, for the better
*' promoting of true Religion, was himielf zfriefl, as well as a king, and
tc performed the iacrcd offices of it among his own people. This great
** man came forth to meet, and to congratulate Abraham, and provided
" him a princely entertainment for himielf and his men, for their refrefh-
" ment, after they had engaged with, and defeated five kings. And
** then, as prieft, in which capacity he was fuperior to Abraham, (Heb.
tc vii. 7.) he folemnly gave Abraham his blefling, or wifh of happinelsj
" putting up his hearty prayers to the great Creator and Governor of
•€ the world, to confirm the bit-fling he had pronounced upon him ; as
" alfo his humble praifes and thankfgivngs for the remarkable meicies
*' of his late vi&ory. And Abraham, on the other fide, paid his ac-
<c knowlcdgmcnt to the Almighty, by prefenting the tenth of what he
cc had taken in the battle to Melchizcdeck his prieft:, by whom he had
*' been fo devoutly bleflcd." Pyle.
Note MelchizeclccFs priefthood, as it was prior to that of the
Jcwilh pnefls, fo it was of a diftincl: and fuperior order, as the Apoftle
zrgucs, Heb. vii. For long after the inftitution of the Jewifh priefthood,
the Lord with an oath declares, that the Mejjiak {hould be a priefl fcr
tier, after the order [in the Hebrew »min "7Jf feeundum rem, accord-
ing to the affair, the cafe; which, as it relateth to a kind or fort of
priefthood, is well tranflatcd l\a T«^»] of Alclchizcdeck, Pfal. ex. 4. Q4
Ch. XXII. Of the Patriarchs! Religion. 9!
what order was Melchizedeck ? The Apoftle directs us to underftand
his names appellatively, or as denoting a character of moral excellence ;
King of Righteoufnefs, or a righteous king; and King of Peace, or biefT-
ing°or happinefs, as he wiflied well toothers, and endeavoured to make
them happy, (Hcb. vii. 2.) which is the higheft chara£ter of worth and
excellence any moral agent can fuftain. Thus he was the Prieft, or
officiated in the fervice of the moft High God. And thus the object of his
priefthood, and confequently his prieithood itfelf, was of an eternal, un-
changeable, and univerfal nature, even righteoufnefs and goodnefs, not
limited to time or family ; for the Scripture gives no account of his
birth, death, or genealogy. We read of no predeceffbr or fucceffor in
his office, as in the Jewifh priefts. [Note this argument is adapted
(adhcminem) to the Jews, who in this way, or by defcent from Aaron
and Levi, judged of the validity of their priefts.] But being of an uni-
verfal, unchangeable nature, mull: fubfift as long as there are any moral
agents, that live in obedience to God.
Thus our Lord was made prieft after the order of Melchizedeck, \. e:
not after the law of a carnal pofitive commandment, which confined the
office to a flefhly, mortal defcent, and employed in certain external rites
and ceremonies; but according to that real Power which is productive of
endlefs, or eternal life, namely, true holinefs. For, verie 17, God declared,
thou art a priejl for ever, after the order of the King of Righteoufnefs,
And chap. i. 8. 9. Unto the Son he faith Thy throne, O God, is ever-
lajling ! A fceptre ofreclitude is the fceptre of thy kingdom. Thou haft loved
righteoufnefs, and hated iniquity ; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed
thee king and prieft, with the oil of gladnefs above thy fellows. And ftili
rearer to the cafe, chap. v. 8. Though he wcreafon, in the higheft fenfe,
before he came into the world, yet was he difciplined in obedience, -as it he
had been a learner, by the things which he fujfered. Verfe 9. And being
made perf eel, having exhibited a perfect character of all moral excellence,
he became the author of eternal falvation to all them that obey him. And it
was on this account, ver. 10, that he was called and conltituted of God
en high priejl after the order of the King of Righteoufnefs. For, as the
Apoitle concludes his difTertation upon this very fubject, (Heb. vii. 26.)
Such an high prieft became us, who is holy, harmlefs, unde filed, fepar ate
from finners, and made higher than the heavens, or the Angels, in oHcr
to raife us to their happinefs.
Melchizedeck was eminently religious. And probably Abraham's
neighbours and confederates, Mamre, Efocol, and Amer, Gen. xiv. 13.
were good and pious ; for, though they were Amorites, it was about
400 years after this, before the fins of that nation were full.
The book of jfeb gives the cleareft and moft extenfive view of the
Patriarchal Religion. The reality of his perfon, the eminence of his
character, his fortitude and patience in very great afflictions, his prece-
ding and fubfequent felicity, are allowed by all ; and it is generally fup-
pofed that he lived a generation or two before Mofei ; and probably, the
book was wrote by himfelf, in time of his reftored profperity.
Some learned men indeed, as Grotius, Codureus, Le Clcre, and others,
pretend that this noble performance was written about a thoufaud years
after the time in which Job lived ; namely, in or near the time of the
Babylonijh
gi Of the Tairlarchal Religion. C.H. XXII.
Babylonijh captivity ; alledging, " that frequent Chaldaifms, as the plural
44 t> for CD' are to be found in it; that fome paflages are taken from the
" Pfalms, Proverbs, and Eccleftajles ; that there are more than a hun-
•' dred words, partly Syriac, partly Arabic, which are not to be found
" in the other parts of Scripture ; which are all figns that the author
*' lived in the later times, when many words, borrowed from the idiom
" of the neighbouring nations, were admitted into the Hebrew.
It is one mark of thu fimplicity of very ancient times, that in the in-
ventory of 'Job's eftate, no mention is made of money, but only of oxen,
fheep, camels, afTes, fervancs. And Gro'ius himfelf owns, " That there
•* is no mention in the book of Job of any law, or religious rites, but
" fuch as were traditional, [chap. viii. 8, 9, 10. xv. 18, 19. xxii. 15,
" 16.] nor of any points of hiftory, nor of any idolatrous pradtices, but
" fuch as were of the more ancient times, before the Mofaic institution.
" \Cbap. xx. 4, 5, meaning Adam. xxii. i<j, 16. j And that the length
" of Job's life, extended to about 200 years, agrees alfo with the fame
" times; that the country where it happened was Arabia, as appears,
tc not only from the names of places, Lfc, Teman, Sbubab, hut from the
'* many Arabic words hereufed." And might not Grotius from hence,
have fairly and ftrongly concluded, that the wr ter was an A>abian? No.
He faith, " it was written bv fome Hebrew." Why lb? Becaufe Arabia,
Job's country, is called the Eaft. Chap. i. 3. And it was ufual with the
Hebrews to call Arabia the Eaft, as he has fhewn upon Mat, it. I. But
the Arabian Magi themfelves, in the next verfe, call their own country
Arabia, the Eaft ; and fo might Job, or any other Arabian in Job'> time.
TheEaft-country was the common name of Arabia, as the Weft-coun-
try is the general name of one part of England. Many words ufed in
this book, arc not to be found in other parts of Scripture. The reafon
Is, becaufe it is fo ancient, that fome words therein are grown obfolete,
and their true meaning is hard to be recovered. It is therefore the moil
difficult, becaufe it is the mod ancient book in the facrc-d code. Had it
been wrote in later times, the language would have been more intelli-
gible.
It is no argument, that the author of this book took fimilar or fame
cxpreffions from David's or Solomon's writings, [compare P/iim cvii. 40.
Yt'ithjobxn. 21, 24. J becaufe it is more probable that David and Solo-
mon borrowed fuch expreffions from the book of J.b. [Compare Job
Axxix. 33. Mat. XXIV.' 2&] Scbultens, a very good judge, affirm?, that
the ftyle of the book hath ail the marks of" a mofl venerable and remote
antiquity; and that the Chaldaifms, as fome call them, particularly the
plurals in }>, are true Hebrew and Arabic, and that of the moft ancient
Itamp. Job is honourably mentioned with Noah and Daniel, Ezek.
xiv. 12— — 20. Hence it follows, (1.) That Job is no fictitious cha-
racter, but a real per fori, as truly as Noah and Daniel. (2.) That he
was, as well as they, a perfon of dilringuiihed piety. (3.) That he was
well known and celebrated as fuch amonglt the Jews, to whom Exekiel's
prophecy was directed. (4.) That he mull cither have been of the feed
of Ifracl, or, like Nocb, of the Patriarchal times; otherwife the Jews,
feparated from, and railed in fpiritual privileges above all other nations,
would
Ch. XXIII. Of Job's Cafe and Cbaracler, 93
would never have propofed to themfelvesoneof their Gentile, uncircum-
cifed neighbours, of whom they had a mean opinion, as an example of
the greateft piety, nor have admitted his ftory into their Canon. If he
was of the Patriarchal times (for an Ifraelite he could not be) he muft
have been at the diftance of about a thoufand years before Ezekisl. Mere
oral tradition of fuch a perfon could not have fubfified through fo long
a fpace of time, without appearing, at laft, as uncertain or fabulous.
There muft, therefore, have been feme hiftory of Job in EzekiePs time;
no other hiftory but that which we now have, and which has always
had a place in the Hebrew code, was ever heard of, or pretended. There-
fore this muft be the hiftory of Job in Ezekiel's time ; and which muft
have been generally known, and read as true and authentic, and, con-
fequently, muft have been wrote near to the age in which the fact was
tranfadled, and not in after-times, when its credibility would have been
greatly diminifhed.
In fhort, fhould I aver, that this is the oldeft and nobleft book in the
world, I fhould have the vote of all the beft critics; and the vefy frame
and caft of the book itfelf would juftify the affertion.
CHAP. XXIII.
Of Joe's Cafe and Char after.
THE Book of Job is the Hiftory of a real fufferer, Job; and the
Subftance of a real converfation with his friends, about his fuf-
ferings, in a poetic drefs. Job was a prince of the greateft eminence,
wealth, and authority, among the people of the eaft ; whofe piety and
integrity equalled his temporal grandeur, chap. i. I, 2, 3; of the
ftridteft religion and virtue; the patron of the injured poor and father-
]efs ; the fcourge of injuftice and oppreffion ; highly honoured and
efteemed by the good, revered and dreaded by the vicious and profane ;
chapters xxix. and xxxi. This man, fo good, and fo glorious, was, by
the Divine Permiflion, and malice of the Devil, at once reduced to the
moft indigent and deplorable circumftances, ftript of all his fubftance,
bereaved of all his children, feven fons and three daughters, and, foon
after, feized with a moft noifome and painful difeafe, from head to foot;
which rendered him the moft fhocking fpe£hcle of forrow and wretch-
ednefs. The country, fo far as the fame of his grandeur and religion
had fpread, would be full of his ftory, and of aftonifhment. The reli-
gious would be inclined to conclude, that fuch fignal and fudden cala-
mities could be no other than the judgments of God upon a man who,
under the mafk of religion, had concealed a wicked and profligate life.
The wicked and profane would triumph in his fufferings, as a juftifica-
tion of their own bad principles and practices, and as a demonftration
of
g4 Of Job* s Cafe and Characler* Ch. X^TlI.
of the infignificancy of the ftri&eft regards to God and his worfhip.
Chap* xvi. 9, IO, II. xvii. 6. His relations and acquaintance, ftruck
with horror and aveifion to fuch a defpicable, vile, abandoned creature,
would not own him. His wife and family treated him with unkindnefs
and neglect, chap. xix. 13 19. The bafeft of men broke in upon
him like a legion of fiends, made his afflictions their merriment, treated
him with all manner of indignities, calumnies, and flander; and even
fpared not to (pit in his face ; chap. xxx. I — 15. Scarce ever were the
feelings of the human heart opprefled with fuch a complicated load of
grief; fcarce ever was a profeffion of religion fo much expofed to cen-
fure, reproach, and infult.
And how did the good man bear all this? With heroic bravery; that
is to fay, with a patience as fteadyand uniform as human infirmity will
admit. [Patience is finccre adherence to God and duty, under alt difficulties
and dijeouraganents ; and the ground of patience \% faith, or a full perfua-
fion cf the power, goodnefs, andwijdom of God.] When his calamities, the
lofs of his numerous herds, flocks, and fervants, and of his deareft chil-
dren, partly by the hands of violence, partly by lightning and ftorm ;
when thefe calamities rulhed upon him like an inundation, though he
felt all the pangs of the mod grievous affliction, ^nd ufed fuch expreifions
of his doleful cafe, as were cuftomary at that time; [Chap.i. 20.
rent his mantle, Jhaved his head, fell down upon the. ground. Chap. ii. 8, 12.
Sprinkled dujl upon their heads; See 1 Sam* iv. 12. 2 Sam. xiii. 19.
jojh. vii. 6. EzeLxxv\i. 30. Iliadxviu. 22.] yet he behaved like a wife
and good man, proftrating himfelf upon the ground in a humble fenfeof
his own unworthinefs, and a patient fubmiffion to the Will of God, com-
pofinghis mind into a calm and quiet adoration of his fupreme Dominion
and unblemifhed Juftice, chap. i. 20, 21. " I came," faith he, " by the
•« Divine Will into the world, a naked helplefs creature; and by the
*c fame will I mud fhortly return to the dud. I am bereaved of my
*c moft valuable and deareft temporal enjoyments, but by the permiflion
" of a wife and righteous God. His own he gave ; his own, for wife
■* ends, he hath taken away. I acquiefce in his Sovereign Difpofals,
*' and adore the inconteftable purity and righteoufnefs of his dealings
*' with me." O brave Soul ! O happy Man, who could keep up good
thoughts of God, and communion with him, under the fharpeft ftrokes
of his rod !
When, covered over with painful boils, in the place and pofture of an
humble penitent, he was probably pouring out his fubmiflions and fup-
plications to Heaven, his wife fpared not to reproach him with his pre-
pofterous godlinefs. Chap. ii. 9, 10. Dojl thou fill retain thine integrity by
buffing God. and dying? q. d. " Will you blefs God when he is deftroy-
tv nig you ? Will you call upon him, and believe he is good, when he
*' hath ruined your eftate and family, and, in fpite of all your humble
•* fubmiflions, is flaughtering your body, and within a ftroke of your
*' life ?" But Job returned no other than a mild anfwer, as became a
good man, and affectionate hufband. " You fpeak not iike yourfelf/'
fai.d he, " but as a woman void of underftanding. Is it fit God fhould
" always fmile upon finful creatures ? Shall we fay, he is not juft when
*' he brings us into afiiic'.ions ? We receive what pleafeih us with ioy,
" and
CH. XXIII. Of Job's Cafe and CbaraQer. 9$
** and it is but reafonable that we receive what is ungrateful with a calm
" refignation ; feeing both come from the fame Wife and Soveicign
" Difpofer of all things." Still Job is patient, and, under every trial,
adheres to God and duty.
Thecompofure and fteadinefs of his mind was more feverely tried by
his three friends, Elipbaz, Bildad, and Zopbar, men of the fame rank,
and of like good fen fe and piety, who dwelt in fome of the adjacent
provinces, and in whofe familiarity he had probably been long happy.
The report of his fufferings, of the ruin of his character, and the wound:
thereby given to religion, having reached their ears, they agreed, with
a fincere intention, to join their, endeavours in adminifiering the only
advice and confolation they apprehended his cafe would admit. For, as
the fufpicions were very ftrong, and his calamities carried evident marks
of Divine Inflictions, they had the fame opinion of them with the reft
of the world, and believed they were the juft judgments of God upon a
hypocrite ; and therefore were determined, by all means, to fix a fenfc
of guilt upon his confcience, in order to bring him to true repentance,
and fo to a folid intereft in the Divine Favour and bleilinc'. But when
they were come, and had found their late flourifhing, honourable, and
highly-efteemed friend, reduced to the moft loathfome and miferable
wretch, that was fitting in the afhes, they were aftonifhed beyond
expreffion ; and being confirmed in their evil fufpicions, though they fat
with him on the ground, yet, as their bad opinion of him would not
allow them to fay any thing comfortable and encouraging, they chofe to
fay nothing at all for (even or feveral days together, chap. ii. 12. The
fight of his old acquaintance, and their unfavourable manner of con-
dolence, raifed his paffion of forrow to fuch a pitch, that it burft out into
a torrent of the moft bitter reflections upon his birth-day; wifning it
were ftruck out of the number of days, or rendered as odious and
cleteftable to all others, as it was to himfelf.
Upon this, Elipbaz, probably the oldeft and moft honourable of the
three, addrefTed himfelf to Job, and, in the fofteft manner, opened
their fenfe of his cafe; namely, that, in their apprehenfions, he had
been very defective in the character to which he had pretended ; that
great fufferings muft be the punifhment of great fins j and that they could
recommend to hirn no other method of regaining his former peace and
profperity, but repentance, and feeking unto God for pardon. In fhort,
they foon declared plainly, that they judged he had been a very wicked
man, and that his calamities were an evident indication of the wrath of
God againft him as fuch. This Job flatly denied ; and this is the
matter in difpute between him and his friends : which difpute, as is
ufual in fuch cafes, was carried on with agrowingeagernefs and heat on
both fides ; and on both fides might occafion fome expremons too ftrong
and exaggerating.
His friends argue from experience, and what they had obferved to be
the ufual method of Divine Providence. They had feen many inftances
of wicked men, or of thofe who had patted for fuch, remarkably
puniftied ; and hence they formed to themfelves a general maxim, that
where they faw great wretchednefs and fufferings, there muft be crimes
proportionally great, To this Job alfo oppofes observation and expe-
rience 5
95 Of Job's Cafe and Charaller. Ch. XXIII,
rience ; and {hews, that the rule of judging they had formed to them-
felves, was by no means right, or without exception ; that good men
were fometimes afflicted, and the wicked flourifhing and happy ; and that,
for the moft part, things were dealt out here promifcuoufly ; that this
was moreefpecially oblervable in times of war and peftilence, and fuch
other fweeping calamities where the good and bad fall undiftinguifhed.
Chap. ix. 22, 23. To all which he adds, that it was a very heavy aggra-
vation of his mifery, to hear his friends, fo well acquainted with him,
men of fenfe and diftinction, charge him with crimes which his foul
abhorred, and of which God, who had afflicted him, knew that he was
innocent. To him he would appeal, and ftill adhere in life and death,
though he did not know why he had dealt fo feverely with him. And fo
ftrongly did fob affert the integrity of his religion and virtue, [chapters
xxix. and xxxi.) that his friends, though perhaps not convinced, were
however put to filence {chap, xxxii. 1).
Upon this, Elihu, a young man of good understanding, who,
probably, with others, was a byftander and witnefs to this debate
{chap, xxxii. 15.) acts as moderator between Job and his friends, and
cenfures both very freely and judicioufly ; only he charges Job with no
crime as the caufe of his afflictions, but thinks he had not managed the
difpute about them with fo much calmnefs and fubmiffion to God as
became his piety.
Finally, the Lord anfwered Job out of the whirlwind (the Septuagint
add, and clouds), a token of the Divine Prefence. So EzekieVs vifions
were introduced, Ezek. i. 4. And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came
cut of the North, a great cloud and afire. Perhaps Elihu faw this token
of the Divine Prefence approaching. Job. xxxvii. 22, Iffc. Fair weather
[nnr gold, fplendor, the fplendor of the Divine Prefence. See Schultens
in loo] cometh [nriN> will come, or is coming, fpeedily] out of the
North ; with God is terrible Majefly. The fpeech of Deity, {chap, xxxviii.
xxxix. xl. xli.) moft inimitably grand andfublime, reprefenting the vaft
extent of the Divine Wifdom and power in the works of creation,
which Job and his friends had well ftudied, and from which they knew
how to deduce proper concluilons, fhews, 1. That all things in the
Iky, the air, the earth, the fea, are produced and difpofed in a manner
far beyond the reach of human wifdom and power. Confequently,
2. That man is not qualified to difpofe of himfelf, or of any other being.
That God may have wife and good reafons for his ways and works, and
dealings with us, which we cannot comprehend ; and therefore it is our
duty, in all cafes, to acquiefceand fubmit. 3. That he who has given
various natures and inftin&s to animals, can give being and life, when
and where, and in what degree he pleafes. 4. That he is prefent to,
cares for, fuftains and directs every living thing; and therefore that we
ought to truft in him for a happy iffue out of any of his inflictions.
5. That the wifeftof men mould be very cautious and modeft in cenfuring
the ways of Providence.
Chap. xlii. Job humbleth himfelf before God, facrificeth for his
friends ; his family is reftorcd, his eftate is doubled.
Rules
Ch. XXI II. Of Job* 's Cafe and Characler. 97
Rules to be obfervcd in expounding the Book of Job.
I. He that would rightly explain this book muft, as much as he can,
imagine himfelr in the fame afflicted condition.
II. Every daring thought, or ardent expreffion, which occurs in the
fpeeches of this afflicted and exafperated man, is not to be vindicated;
yet, as he was a great man, and a prince, he may be allowed to ufe
bold and animated language.
III. We fhall certainly judge amifs, if we think every thing wrong,
which will not fuit with the politenefs of our manners. Allowance
muft be made for the fimplicity of thofe times.
IV. In judging of Job's character, we mufr fet the noble {trains of his
piety againft the unguarded expreffions of his forrow.
V. It is not his innocence, ftriclly fpeaking, which Job infifts on,
but his fincerity. Chap. vii. 20, 21.
VI. Except their hard cenfures of Job, his friends fpeak well and re-:
ligioufly. '
VJi. His friends encouraged Job to hope for a temporal deliverance;
{chap. v. 18, csV. vii. 20, &c. xi. 14, &c.) but Job defpaired of it,
and expected his bodily dii'order would terminate in death, [chap. vi. 1 j,
12. vii. 6, 7, 8, 21. xvii. 1, 13, 14, 15. xix. 10. Though, in the
increafing heat of the difpute, they feem to drop this fentimem, in their
following anfwers, as if they fuppofed Job to be too bad to hope for any
favour from God.) He hoped, however, that his character would be
cleared in the day of judgment : though he was greatly concerned that
it could not be cleared before ; that after a life led in the mofr confpi-
cuous virtues, his reputation, in the opinion of his neareff. friends,
would fet under a black cloud, and, with regard to the ignorant and
profane, leave an odious reproach upon a profeffion of religion. This
touched him to the heart; exafperated all his fufferings, and made him
often with, that God would bring him to his trial here, in this life;
that his integrity might be vindicated, and all, friends and enemies,
might underftand the true end or defign of God in his fufferings; and
the honour of religion might be fee u red. Chap. x. ii. 2, 3. Is it good
unto thee, that thou'jhoiddfi—Jbine upon the counfel of the wicked? who from
my cafe take occafion to reproach and vilify true religion, and to con-
firm themfelves in their wicked and idolatrous practices. Chap, viii. 20,
21, 22, xi. 17 — 20, xvi. 9 — II.
V1IJ. He could only affirm his integrity, but could give no fpecial
fatisfactory reafon, why God fhould afflict him in a manner fo very ex-
traordinary, and beyond all preceding cafes that were ever known in
the world. This very much perplexed 2nd cmbarrafled his mind, and
laid him under a great difadvantage in the difpute. And, for one thing,
it is on this account that he is fo earneft to come to a conference with
God, to know his mind and meaning. Chap. x. 2. Shew me wherefore
thou contended with me. See Bp. Patrick's Paraphrafe upon the place,
from ver. 2d to the 8th. He knew very well he could not abfolutely
juftify himfclf before God, chap, ix. 2, 3, &c* ver* 17. For he breaks
Vol. I. G rne
58 Of Job's Cafe and CharaHer. Ci-i. XXII I.
me with a tempcjl, he muhiplieth my wounds without a caufe, or without
any apparent reafon. Chap. vii. 12, 20. The whole xxiiid chapter re-
lates to this point; in which he wifhes he could come to the dwelling-
place of God, (ver. 3..) and fpread his cafe before him, and argue about
it at large, .(ver. 4.) for he had turned his thoughts everyway, and
could make nothing of it, (ver. 8, 9.) only he was fure God knew he
was an upright man, (ver. 10, II, 12.) But, (ver. 13.) he is in one
inNIl or in unity, fupreme above all others, absolutely entire, keeping
his mind and defigns to himfelf ; and nine can turn, or oblige him to al-
ter his refolution. All that we can fay is, that he doth whatever is
agreeable to his own wildom. For (ver. 14.) what he hath refolved to
inflict upon me he hath accomplifhed ; and many fuch things he doth,
of which he will not give us the reafon. To the fame purpofe under-
ftand chap, xxvii. 2, 3, 4, 14. and chap, xxviii. 2. He halh taken ailhiy
my judgment, i. e. the rule by which I might judge of the reafon of my
afflictions. This point, in reference to God, Elihtt tells him (chap.
xxxiii. 13.) he had urged to no purpofe, feeing he gives no account cf his
matters, 01 will not reveal to us the fecrets of his Providence.
IX. In fuch a noble performance, if any thing feems to be faid not
in confiftency, or not in character, we fhould rather fufpect our own
judgment, than the good fenfe of the Author. The fault is not in the
book, but in our underftanding.
X. That fenfe which belt agrees with the fubjecl:, or the point in
hand, or which ftands in the belt connexion with the context, fhould
always be judged the belt fenfe.
Criticisms.
Chap. i. 5. To blefs a perfon is a form of valediction, 2 Sam. xix.
00. So here, My fons have have taken leave of God. And fo 1 Kings,
xxi. I 5. Naboth hath bid farewell to God and the King, or hath treated
them with contempt.
Chap. iii. 2<J, 26. The thing that I greatly feared is come upon me, &c.
This alludes to the lofs of his children, for whom he was very much
concerned, chap. i. 5. But chap, x.xix. 18. and xxx. 26. relate to his
circumftances in general.
Chap. xiii. 12. Tour remembrances DD'mr your [quoting of] memora-
ble fay ings are like afhes, or dirt; your bodies D3QJ your heaps, eminen-
cies, your ltrongcft arguments, to heaps of clay, foon wafhed away.
CHA.P.
C H. XXI V. The Doclrines of the Patriarchal Age. 99
CHAP. XXIV.
The Doclrines of the Patriarchal Age.
#
THE inftru&ions particularly defigned to be given in the Book
of Job , might not be fo well underftood in that age of the world;
namely, that great fufferings are not always an argument of great fins ;
but that very good men may be very much afflicted in this world ; that
therefore we fhould not cenfure any under calamities, oe the hand of
God ever fo apparent, unlefs the crimes be likewife certain and appa-
rent. That we ought not to complain of God in any condition, as if
he neglected us, or dealt hardly with us, but rather meekly fubmit to
his Blefled Will ; who never doth any thing without reafon, though we
cannot always comprehend it; adoring and revering the unfearchabie
depths of his Wife Counfel, and believing that all at laft will turn
out to our advantage, if like his fervant Job we perfcvere in faith,
hope, and patience. This was Job's real character, though not with-
out errors. No error can be difcerned in his behaviour, but what
the uncharitable cenfures of his friends provoked him to. Thus he
was put upon too frequent and too ftrong justifications of himfelf, be-
ing withal extremely perplexed to give a plain and fatisfactory account
why God afflicted him fo feverely.
God, in the iflue, fatisfied him, that he had juft and weighty rea-
fons ; and, in particular, by doubling his profperity, that he defigned
to make him a pattern of patience and reward. James v 11. Behold,
zue account them happy who endure patiently the greateft fufferings. Ye
have heard of the wonderful patience cf Job, and have feen, in his cafe,
the happy end to which the Lord brought his calamities. Whence we
may learn, that under the fevereft vifitations, the Lord is very com-
panionate and merciful to the fincere and upright, and will amply re-
compenfe them in a future world.
Thus the great point in religion, before dark and doubtful, relating
to the Providence of God, and the fufferings of good men, is cleared
up with fuch evidence, as can no where elfe be found but in the gofpel
ofjefus Chrijl.
Though this point might not be fo well underftood, before it was
thus illulrrated, yet there are feveral other important articles of religion,
of which Job and his friends, and doubdefs many others, had very juft
and clear conceptions: as the being and perfections of God ; that we
can receive neither good nor evil but from him, the Author of our being,
and Difpofer of all events ; that he fees and orders all things in heaven
and earth ; that there can be no iniquity with him ; that he is the Friend
and Patron of virtue, and hates, and will punifh vice and wickednefs ;
neverthelefs, that he is merciful and gracious, and will certainly pardon
and blefs thofe who fincere] y repent of their fins, and return unto him :
that he is to be fupremely reverenced and worshipped, as the fole Sove-
reign of the univerfe, by prayers and Sacrifices, by purity and integrity
G 2 ©f
ICO The Doctrines of the Patriarchal Age. Ch. XXIV.
heart, by juftice in all our dealings, by all a£b of charity, goodnefs,
and benevolence to others, particularly to the helplefs and indigent;
by temperance and fobrictv, curbing irregular defires and appetites : that
men mould not be elated and puffed up by large pollcflions, nor put
their truft in riches, chap. xxxi. 24, 25 ; that they mould abhor idola-
try, ver. 26, 27, 28 ; that they fhould not with evil to an enemy, nor
rejoice in his misfortunes, per, 29, 30, much lefs think of murdering
him ; that they fhould abffain from adultery and fornication, ver, 1, 2,
3, 9, ic, II; from theft, rapine, and deceit, vcr. 5, 6, 7. For the pu-
jiilhment of which crimes he mentions judges in his days, (ver. J 1, 28.)
and was himfelf one of the chief, chap. xxix. 7, 9, &c.
Thefe, and fuch like principles of natural religion, are allowed both
by Job and his friends, and therefore were the religion of the Patriarchs,
as indeed they are the principles of true and acceptable religion in all
ages and parts of the world.
Further; the religious in that, and the preceding, as well as fubfe-
quent ages, I am perfuaded, entertained the faith and hope of a future
ftate. This hath been the popular belief of all nations from time im-
memorial ; and it is fcarce credible, in the nature of the thing, that the
greateft happinefs of this life, which might at any uncertain time, and
at length would infallibly and totally be demolifhed by death, fhould
ever become a folid principle of religion, confidered as the fole reward
of piety and virtue.
However it appears, that Job expected a future world, for he had
hope with regard to his condition, but not in this world; therefore, his
hope muff be in a future ftate. Chap. xiii. 15. 16. brvx vb obfip* ~\n
Lo, or certainly, he will flay me: I will not hope, non eft quod fperem,
I have no ground to hope, that I fhall furvive my fufterings, yet will I
maintain the integrity of my oivn ways before him. And even this /hall be
for falvation to me; [where but in a future world ?] for a hypocrite fhall not
come before him; fhall not have confidence to prefent himfelf before his
tribunal. Chap, xxiii. io. But he knows the way that I take; when he
has tried me, 1 Jhall come forth as gold. As Job absolutely defpairs of any
temporal deliverance, this mull: neceflarily be underltood of the hope
he entertained of having his innocence cleared in the day of judg-
ment.
; He had, moreover, a notion of the refurre&ion. Chap. xiv. 7. For
there is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, that it will fpr out again, and that
the tender branch thereof will not ceafe. Ver. 8. 1 hough the root thereof
jd in the earth, and the flock thereof die in the ground, ver. 9. yet
through the feent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a new
plant. Ver. 10. And Jliall man die, and totally waflc away? And Jhall
man give up the ghojl, and where is he ? Or be no more for ever ? Ver.
11. As the waters fail from the fea, as the fea ebbs and flows again, and
Wr, or brook in the dry fandy country of Arabia, decays, anddrieth
up, in fummer, but is made a brook again by the rains and fnows of
winter; ver. 12. Sj man lieth down, and rifeth not, till the heavens be na
they Jhall not awake, nor be rui fed out of their jleep, to return to the
and poffeffions of this world. Vcr. 13. And Oh that thou, O
God,
Ch. XXIV. The Doclrines of the Patriarchal Jgc. 101
God, would/} hide me in the grave, in that ftate of flee p and infcnfibility,
that thou would ft keep me fecret, in that filent retirement, until thy wrath
be pa ft; that thou wouldjl appoint me a fet time, and remember me to reftore
me to a new and better life ! Ver. 14. If a man die, /hail he live again ?
Or (hall a man live again, after he is dead ? Then I will patiently wait
all the days of the time thou fhall be pleafed to appoint, till my happy
renovation fhall come. Ver. 15. Thou /halt call, and I will joyfully an-
fwer thee; thou wilt have a longing defire to reftore the work of thy hands.
Ver. 16. Though now, at prefent, thou number e/t my /teps, Sec.
Chap. xix. 23. Obferve the folemn introduction ; Oh, that my words,
which I am going to fpealc, were now written ! Oh, that they were printed
in a book! Ver. 24. That they were graven with an iron pen and lead, in
the rock [my grave-ftone, Schultens], for ever ! This is too grand
for temporal deliverance. Why mould that be recorded upon a rock, as
a lading monument to all mankind ? But it very well fuits the noble
and fublime hope of a refurrection and future judgment, worthy of
univerfal attention. Ver. 25. For I know, or am well allured, that my
bid Vindicator, [the Vindicator of my innocence is] living, and that at
the la ft over the duft, [the dead, that hath been reduced to duft,] he/hall
arife", [to execute judgment, Job xxxi. 13, 14, Pfal. Ixxiv. 22. Ixxxii.
8.j Verfe 26. And though after ?ny Jkin they /hall deftroy this, [or this
body fhall be deftroyed,] yet from my reftored flejh 1 /hall with pleafure
fee God. [Vide R. n?nj verfe 27. Whom I /hall fee for my/elf, [to do me
juftice, as chap. v. 17.— for thy good [for thyfelfj and mine eyes /hall be-
hold; but "IT a ftranger to goodnels and juftice fhall not behold him in
the fame manner. My reins are confumed in my bofom [in ardent expecta-
tion of this glorious event. N. B. n?D fequente ]>y, i^D3 vel nn de-
fidenum, ingens, ftagrans et confumens fignificat ; videfis Pfalms lxxxiv.
2. cxix. 82, 123. cxliii. 7. Sic quoque de nv?3 renes, ftatuendum.]
Obferve— if after his fkin, his body alio was deftroyed, how could he
outlive this deftruction, fo as to be a man profperous and happy again
in this world ? Had this been his fixed belief, his frequent wifhing for
death would be utterly unaccountable, and his tragical complaints ridi-
culous, and his defpair of health and happinefs in this world a contra-
diction.
If wicked men, though fometimes in great wretchednefs, (chap^xxi.
16, &c.J are alfo fometimes profperous and powerful, verfe 7, &c. the
proper inference is, verfe 30. That the wicked. are rcferved unto the day of
dejlruclion, and that they /hall b< brought forth to the day of wrath; not in
this world, for that would have cut the neck of Job's argument at once,
and have fallen in directly with that of his friends. Chap. xxxi.
2, 3.
Chap, xxvii. 8. For what is the hope of an hypocrite, in the future ftate,
though he hath gained much in this world ; when God takes azvay his foul at
death? This fuppoleth a hope after death. — Again, chap. xxxi. 13, 14.
What then fhall I do when God rifcth up to judgment ? Not in this world,
where his fufferings were as great as could be, and where he did not ex-
pect they would be abated. — Laftly, his friends had not fpoken of God the
thing that was right, as Job had done, chap. xlii. 7, 8. But fetiing
G 3 afide
102 TheDodt -ines of 'the Patriarchal Age. Ch. XXIV.
afide a future ftate, the friends would have fpoke more worthily of
God, by vindicating his Providence in the exact diftribution of good
and tvil in this lire; and Job, who alTerted the contrary, would have
mifreprefented his dealings with mankind.
The Patriarchs before and after Job, and the Jfraelites before Chriji
came, had a notion of a future ftate. — By facrifices was plainly (hewn,
that a way was open to the Divine Favour and Acceptance ; and the fa-
vour of God imports happinefs, which to Abel, who was for that very
reafon, becaufe he was accepted of God, unjuftly flain, could be only in
a future ftate. Heb. xi. 4- Ka» ^' «wt»js uwodavuv and dying on account of
that his faith he yet fpeaketh an invifible future ftate of reward. — The
translation of Enoch and Elijah, in two diftant ages, were well-known
demonftrations of a future ftate of reward and glory. — They were cer-
tainly acquainted with God and Angels, and heaven where both refided.
Gen. xxii. II. And the connexion between this world and heaven, by
theminiftty of Angels, was clearly reprefented to Jacob. Genefis xxviii.
12. They rnuft, therefore, have a notion of another and better world.
The promife to Abraham, Genefis xvii. 7. I will be a G,d unto thee,
we fhall find, is the fame with the gofpel promife, and therefore muft
include the gift of eternal life. And as that promife was lure to Abraham,
Jfaac, and Jacob, when they were dead, {Exodus iii. 6 ) our Lord rightly
infers, that they would rife again. (Luke xx. 3;, 38.) For God is
not a God if the dead, who cannot, as fuch, be benefited by him, but of
the living ; for though they are dead, they all live unto him, or with refpecT:
of him, as he will raife them all to life again. — And the Patriarchs
thus underftood this promife; for when they considered and reprefented
their life in this world as a pilgrimage, Genefis xlvii. 9. or a ftate of
fojourning or travelling, they plainly intimaied that they were feeking
7ra.T£i$ct, their Father's country, /. e. the heavenly country or city. Heb.
xi. 13 — 16. Had the profpec"ts of Mofcs been confined to this world,
doubtlefs he would have preferred the pleaiures and honours ot~ Pharaoh's
court; but by refufing them, and choofing rather to fuffer with the peo-
ple of God, he plainly indicated, that he had refpeel to the future recom-
penfe of reward. Heb. xi. 24, 25, 26.
It is certain the Jews, even during their peculiarity, were under the
Jbrahamic, or Gofpel covenant, promifing the pardon of fin, and eternal
life, as well as under the law, or Sinai covenant. Dtut. xxix. 12, 13.
And furely, if they were admitted to a covenant of life and immorta-
lity, they could not be ignorant of a future ftate. Nor can it be judged
at all improbable, that Mofes propounds eternal life to them in fuch
paflages as this, Dent. xxx. 6. The Lord thy God will circumcife thy heart,
and the heart of thy feed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and
with all thy foul, that thou mayjl live. This our Lord underftood of eter-
nal life. Luke x. 25, &c. When one afked him, What Jhall I do to inhe-
rit eternal life? he fent him to the law of Mofes ; and when the enquirer
readily quoted the rule of life given by Mofes, our Lord replied, Thou haft
dnfwered well; this do, and thou Jhalt live, meaning eternally. Which
leads us to underftand Mofts in the fame fenfe, when he propofes life as
the reward of their fincere religion, virtue, and goodnefs. Deut. xxx. 15,
19, 20,
Ch. XXIV. The Dotlrines of the Patriarchal Age. 103
19, 20. Lev. xviii. 5. compared with Romans x. 5. Gal. iii. 10, II, 12.
Indeed life and profperity in the land of Canaan, is intermixed with fuch
promifes. This is to be confidered as addrrffed to them in a national
capacity, and with refpe£t to the covenant of peculiarity. [Note
Life is put for eternal life, John vi. 47, 48, 52, 53, 58.] JTttWl is the
beginning, or former part; nnnt* properly deno:es, what comes after,
the after part, time, or ftate. Thus Job's time, after his afflictions
were over, is called his ahharith, chap. xlii. 12. So is a man's pofte-
rity, or thofe that come after him in being. Amos iv. 2.
Sometimes it fignifies the happy confequence, or fequel of a courfe
of action, Proverbs xxiv. 14, 20 ; frequently after-days, or times in this
world ; but is never ufed more properly than to denote a future ftate
after death. Num. xxiii. 10. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let
tny ahharith, my after or future fiate, be like his. Pfalm ixxiii. 3 — 18.
The wicked lived in profperity, and died an eafy death. There are no
bands in their death, verfe 4. 1 envied them, faith David, verfe 17, until
I 'went into the fancluary of God ; then imderjlood I their ahharith, future
Jlate, after death. Surely thou haflfet the?n in flippery places ; thou hajl cajl
them down into eternal definition, &c. Verfe 20. As a dream after one is
awake ; fo, 0 Lord, when thou awakefl [~\y2 in awaking them, or when
they are awakened] thou wilt defpife, [debafe, pour contempt upon, Da-
nielxu. 2. j their image [cDD^ their vain, fhadowy, unfubftantial con-
dition.] Verfe 23. Never tbelefs 1 am continually with thee, [the object of
thy fpecial care.] Verfe 24 — 27. 7 bou /bait guide me by thy coun/el, and.
afterward receive me to glory, Sic. Proverbs xxiii. 17, 18. Surely there is
an end, ahharith, an after-ftate. Jer. xvii. II. As the bird Kore hatchetb
eggs, which /he did not lay,f he that getteth riches, and not by right, /hall leave
them in the mi djl of his days, and at his end [irvinNin in his after — or
future-ftate, ] fmll be bll a fool, vile, contemptible. Verfe 13.—
They that depart from me /halt be written in the earth, not regiftered in
heaven, in the book of life. Deut. xxxii. 29. their latter end, their
after or future -ftate. Pfalm xxxvii. 37, 38. the end, ahharith, of
that man is peace, happinefs. But the tranfgrejjors /ball be utterly de/lroyed,
[where but in the future world ?J the end, ahharith, of the w'nk-yi /hall be
cutoff". Deut. xiv. 1,2. Te are the children of the Lord your God; (of an
immortal Father) ye /ball not cut your J elves, nor make any ba'Jnefs between
your eyes for the dead. T hey muft not mourn as thofe that had no hope,
I The/, iv. 13. Adoption includes the redemption of the body. Romuns
viii. 23. If at ah xxvi. 19. Thy dead men /ball live, with my deaa body
foall they ariie : awake, andfing, ye that dwell in the du/l ; for thy deiv is as
the dew of herbs, which makes herbs to fpring and grow up. But the
earth /bali crjl out the wicked dead, the rephaim, as abortives.
See Pfalms xv. xvi. 9, &c. xvii. 15. when I awake out of death.
Daniel xii. 2. Pfalms xxiii. 6. xxiv. 3, 4, 5. Eccl. iii. 16, 17. xii. 13.
Ifaiah xxv. 8. li. 6.
Thefe inftances may fatisfy, that, although life and immortality are
brought into the fulleir. light by the Gofpe!, a future ftate was not un-
known from the beginning to the coming of Chrijl. We may therefore
take it for a good rule, that the words life and falvatior,, in the Old
G 4 Teftament,
104
The Scripture-Chronology.
Ch. XXV.
TefTament, may be underftood of a future life and fa!vation> when the
context will admit of fuch an interpretation.
We have found, that in the Patriarchal Age, among the nations, be-
fore the Jewilh peculiarity, there were perfons eminent for religion and
virtue, who worfhipped the living Gou, and enjoyed extraordinary
communications from him; but thit many were of a different charac-
ter, wicked and ungodly men ; and that idolatry, captivating the minds
of the ignorant, weak, and vicious, fpread fo fa(t, that it threatened the
total extinction of good morals, and of the knowledge and pure woifhip
of God. How the Father of mankind counteracted this new rnftance
of degeneracy we mail fee, when we have fettled the Scripture-Chrono-
logy, and confidered the judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
CHAP.
XXV.
The Scripture-Chronology from the Deluge to the Exodus.
The IVickednefs and Ruin of Sodom, &c. 857 Years.
Year before
Chrtft.
Year of the | Year of
Wor d. I Stem's Age .
Names of the Patriarchs, and their
Ages, when thev had Sons.
1706
1491
1658
20S3
2513
5^5
55°
Gen. xi. 10,
12,
14,
16
18,
2C
Shern, after the Flood 2
a 4
xxi. 5,
XXV. 7.6,
xlvii. 9.
■ .d lived
Silah lived
Heber lived
Peleg lived
Reu lived
Serug lived
Nahor lived
Terah lived
Abraham
After that
Ifaac lived
Jacob aged
Iitcs conti
»cJ there
}
35
and begat
and begat
30 and beg it
34 and begat
30 and beg it
32 and begat
30 and begat
29 and begat
130 * ai
I when the
75 •} Promife
v was made.
25 and begat
60 f and begat
f when he
130 \ removed
<- to Egyft.
/^>EN. xi. 26. it is faid, Terah fiV€a' 70 years, and begat Ait
^-* \?si!</ir '.inH f-t.:rs}n. Riif T'er/iU IU9C onf vpnr« <--.lr) whf-i
Nahor* and Haran
Gen.
died in
and then w
fjom ^05, Terab's age, gives
was born.
But Terah was 205 years old when he
Aft r Tereh*S death, At ram left Huron
he 75 years old, Gen. xii. 4. which being fub traded
130, the year of Terah when Abratn
t Add
Ch. XXV. The Scripture-Chronology. 105
+ Add I/aac's age (60) when Jacob was born, to the years from the
Deluge, and you will have 512, the year after the Deluge when Jacob
was born. Shem was 98 years old ac the Deluge, and lived 600 years,
Gen. xi. 10, 11. Take 98 from 600, and there remains 502, the years
Shem lived after the Deluge ; which, deducted from 512, the year after
the Deluge, in which Jacob was born, leaves ten years, the time between
Shem's death a-id Jacob's binh. Hence it follows, that Ifaac lived with
Shem 50, and that Abram lived with Shem 150 years. Ifaac alfo, who
lived 180 years, (Gen.xxxv. 28.) lived 12O with Jacobs i.e. till within
ten years of Jacob's going down into Egypt. And as Shem lived with
Methufelah 98, and Mcthufelah with Adam 240, three perfons, Msthufelah,
Shem, and Ifaac, might bring down the account of things from Adam
till witnin ten years of" the going down of the Ifraelites into Egypt.
From the Deluge to the Promife was 427 years.
From the Promife to the time when Jacob and his family went down
into E%\ft was 215 years. And from the Promife to the time when the
childicn of I/rael came out of Egypt was 430 years. Compare Exod.
xii. 41. with Gal. iii. 17. Therefore the time of their continuance in
Egypt rmift be 215 years.
Jofeph was 30 years of age when preferred by Pharoah, Gen. xli.
4^>. After that there were feven years of plenty, and two of famine
(Gen. xlv 11.) before Jacob came down into Egypt. Jofeph, therefore,
was then 39 years of age : after that he lived 71 years, for he lived in
all no years, Gen. 1. 22, 26. Take 71 out of 215, and there remains
144, the time the Ifraelites remained flaves in Egypt after Jofeph\ death.
Exod. i. 8.
Before we come to the promife made to Abraham, which was the
foundation-ftone of the grand fcheme to preferve religion and morals in
the world, we muft turn our thoughts a while to a particular difpenfa-
tion which God inflicted upon four cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah
and Ztboim, (Gen. xiv. 2. Deut. xxix. 23.) that flood in a very exten-
five, fruitful, and pleafant vale, along the iides of the river Jordan. Gen.
xiii. 10. So far had idolatry, and the immorality which ufually attends
it, infected the world, that thefe four populous cities, and Zoar, which,
lay not far from them, (Gen. xiv. 2. xix. 20.) were become exceflively
debauched and wicked, indulging to that vilell fort of lewdnefs which
is commonly called Sodomy, going after Jlrange flefh, (Jude 7.) the men
burning in their lujl one towards another, men with men working that which
is unfeemly. Rom. i. 27.
Therefore God purpofed to punifh them with an exemplary and total
deftruclion. Abraham, in the benevolence of his foul, interceded for
their prefervation. Gen. xviii. 23. And fuch is the mercy of God, fo
great his regard to virtuous characters, and fo ready for their fakes to
bellow bleflings, even upon the unworthy, that he would have fpared
them, if but ten truly fober and virtuous perfons could have been found in
all thofe five cities ; but they were univerfally and irreclaimably corrupt.
Therefore, fparing Zoar for Lot's fake, (Gen. xix. 20, 21.) hedeftroyed.
the other four cities, with all their inhabitants, by pouring upon them
the moll dreadful llorm of fire and brimftone from heaven ; and alfo,
probably, by a terrible earthquake, that broke up the very foil of the
earth,
106 The Scriptun-Chonoiogy. Ch. XXV.
earth, and by an irruption of bituminous waters, which turned the whole
vale into one heavy, fetid, and unwholfome lake, called the dead, or fait
fea, about 30 miles long, and 10 miles broad, Gen. xix. 24, 25, which
remains unto this day.
This dreadful inftance of Divine Vengeance, through the mercy of
God, removed the bad examples of thofe daring Tinners, had a nacural
fitnefs to awaken and reform the furviving impious, and was very pro-
perly intended to remain a perpetual monument of the wrath of God
upon the wickednefs of mankind. 2 Ptt. ii. 6. Jude, ver. 7. Suffering
the vengeance of eternal fire. Note the fire was eternal, as it totally
and for ever deftroyed thofe cities never to be built again. God thus
revealed his future wrath from heaven againjl all ungodlinefs and unrighte-
cufnefs of men. And though there be no prefent appearances of it, we
fhould not therefore be fecure. For, as our Lord obferves, Luke xv'ii.
23. The Sodomites did eat, they drank, they bought, they fold, they planted,
they builded, thoughtlefs and fecure; but the fame day that Lot went out
of Sodom, it rained fire and brimftone from heaven, and deftroyed them all.
Even thus fnall it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
Gen. xix. 24. The Lord rained fire and brimftcne from the Lord in hea-
ven. This is an Hebraifm, where the noun itfelf is put inftead of the
perfonal pronoun.
Gen. xix. 26. But his wife looked back from behind him, and [he became a
pillar of fait. Note — The fulphureous ftorm did not begin to fall upon
Sodom till Lot v/as fafely arrived at Zoar, Gen- xix. 22. But his wife
looked back before he reached Zoar ; for fhe looked back from behind him,
as he was going to Zoar. Therefore, when fhe looked back, Sodomt
and the fine country about it, appeared in the fame pleafantand ferene
ftate as ever. Confequently, fhe looked with a look of affection to the
place, and of regret to leave it, and their goods that were in it, accord-
ing to the import of the verb ID33 This implied unbelief and dif-
truft of what the angels had affirmed, that God would immediately de-
ilroy the place. She did not believe, or fhe did not regard it ; fhe flopped
by the way, and left her hufband to go by himfelf ; fhe would go no
further, and might be at a confiderable diftance from Zoar, and fo near
to Sodom, as, probably, to be involved in the terrible fhower, and
thereby turned into a nitro-fulphureous pillar. This gives the proper
fenfeand force of our Lord's admonition, Z,«^?xvii. 32. Remtmber Let's
wife. Let the judgment of God upon her warn you of the folly and
danger of hankering after, and being loath to part with fmall and tem-
poral things, when your life and happinefs, thegreateft and moft lafting
concerns, are at ftake.
CHAP. XXVI.
Ch. XXVI. The State of Religion, &rc. 107
CHAP. XXVI.
The State of Religion In the World, when God made the Promlfe to
Abraham.
THOUGH we may be fure, that our State of Trial hath been,
from the beginning of the world, perfectly well adjufted, as to
the proper balance of means and temptations, for all the purpofes
of Divine Wifdom and Goodnefs, yet it is certain that the conta-
gion of evil fo far fpread in the earlieft ages, as, in procefs of time,
to threaten the total extinction of true Religion and good morals. This
is evident in the c fe of the old world, where wickednefs and impiety
had at length, and by degrees, infected the whole race of mankind,
except Noah's fingle family. And in about 450 years after the deluge,
idolatry and wickednefs had fpread and corrupted the world fo far, that
Sodom and four other cities, being univerfally debauched, were de-
ftroyed (one excepted for the reafon already given ) by a moft tremendous
judgment. The Amorltes, and feveral other neighbouring nations, were
then tilling up the meafure of their iniquity ; {Gen. XV. 16, 19, 20, 21. )
which in about 400 years after was quite full j and God, who might
havedeftroyed them, as he did Sodom, &c. gave the Ifraelitcs a commif-
fion to expel, or extirpate them.
This fpreading corruption, after the deluge, is not to be affigned to
fimple irreligion, but to religion directed to wrong objects and purpofes.
While men retained the knowledge of the true God, they cared not to
glorify him by the practice of virtue and holinefs, nor were thankful for
his benefits. Rom. i. 21, 22. And artful men, through pride and wan-
tonnefs, indulging to idle conceits and falfe reafonings, involved their
own underftanding, and that of others, in the thicker}, clouds of error
and delufion. Probably, they reprefented the heavenly bodies, the fun,
moon, and ftars, as illuftrious intelligences, who, being fo eminently
exalted, muft have the higheft intereft in the favour of God, the direc-
tion of human affairs, and the diftribution of all temporal bleffings ;
and therefore it would be fufficient to all the purpofes of religion, to fe-
cure their friendfhip, as mediators between God and them. Thus they
might be driven, enticed, drawn in, to worfhip them, {Deut. iv. 19. )
by fuch impious rites as were invented by the folly and ignorance of the
fame fophifters, and adapted to the depraved minds of fuch as Iiftened
to them. Thus they might be deceived into the practice of all manner
of lewdnefs and vice. For the attributes of thofe fuppofed deities, and
benefactors of mankind, being feigned purely by human imagination,
they would naturally be reprefented by men, who had their own interefts
and lufts to ferve, in fuch manner as beff. fuited the corrupt tafte and in-
clinations of thofe who were difpofed to follow them. J f this was not
the cafe at firir, it may eafily be conceived to have been fo in procefs of
time, by after-improvements upon the original fcheme of idolatry. And
by this method men would be led to believe they might be religious,
3 and
10S The State of Religion In the World, &c. Ch. XXVI.
and gain health, long life, fruitful feafons, plenty, profperity, not only
without the practice of virtue and holinefs, but pofitively by lewd and
wicked practices ; and thus religion would be turned into an encourage-
ment to vice, and the principles of virtue and goodnefs would be extin-
guished.
Whether they were feduced precifely after this manner or not, the
Fact is certain, that their abominable idolatries were attended with abo-
minable lufts and intemperance, i Pet. iv. 3. Add to this, that cunning
men, who knew how to make their own advantage of the foibles of
mankind, introduced into their minds notions of fate, deftiny, fortune,
chance, neceflity, with many other deluiions. Hence arofe profeflbrs
of thevileft arts, pretending to look into futurity, to gratify malicious
defires, to fecure good, and prevent bad luck to thofe who confulted
them. Dent, xviii. 10. Diviners, obferversoftlm.es, enchanters, ivltches,
or fuch as pretend to work upon the mind, or body, for evil purpofes,
by herbs or potions ; charmers, confulters with a pretended familiar fplrli,
wizards, necromancers. And fo far were they infatuated, that they m:ide
their fons and daughters to pafs through the fire, under the notion of
facriflccs to their idols ; probably, to gain their bleffing upon their chil-
dren, and to mate them healthy and fortunate. Deut. xii. 31. xviii. ia.
Lev. xviii. 21. xx. 2. Thus their hope and trult, and their regards, were
diverted from God and his Providence to vain idols and the vileft
ImpoirorF.
The neglect and abufe of underftanding, and the indulged irregular
inclinations of the heart, were doubtlefs tiie fpring and principal caufe
of this defection from God and virtue. But we may believe it wa^ for-
warded and completed by the fuggeftions and mitigations of the Devil
and his angels ; the Prince of the power of the Air, the Spirit whom God
permits td work in the children of difobedience, (Ephef. ii. 2. ) and to deceive
the nations. Rev. xx. 2, ?. For when men receive not the love of the
truth, that they may be faved, God judicially fends them jlrong deluJiony
that they may believe a lie. That they may all be condemned, who believe nqt
the truth, but have plea fur c in unrlghiccufnefs. 2 Their, ii. 9 — 12.
Thus we fee how idolatry firft began, and by what means it might,
as it certainly did, fpread in the world ; and would have prevailed uni-
verfally, as the remaining virtuous dropped of, and as men of underftand-
appened to be drawn in by various allurements. For the heart
even ot Solomon, the great and wife, was, by the love of ftrange women,
fo far turned away after idol gods, that he built high places and altars
in honour of them, even in the neighbourhood of the city fcrufalem.
I Kin. xi. 1 — 8.
To prevent the univerfal prevalence of idolatry, and to preferve among
mankind the knowledge and worfhip of the living and true God, the
wife and gracious Father of men was pleafed to advance a new and noble
fcheme, which, under feveral variations and improvements, was to reach
to the end of time. The fcheme was this, to choofe and adopt one fa-
mily, afterwards to be formed into a nation, initrudted in religious know-
ledge by God himfelf, and favoured with fuch extraordinary privileges,
and honours, above ail other nations of the earth, as were in their own
nature adapted to engage them, by the mod rational motives, to adhere
ta
Ch. XXVII. the Methods of Divine W'fdom, &c. ico,
to God and his worihip. At the fame time, to prevent their being infect-
ed witli the idolatries and vices of the reft of the world, as they certainly
would have been, had they mingled with them, they were to be diftin-
gui'fhcd and feparated from all other people by their diet, their drefs, and
divers civil and religious rites and ceremonies; but more particularly
by a fecret mark in the flefh, by which they might be certainly known
from all other men. Thus they would be kept together in a body, and
hindered from mixing with, and being corrupted by, their idolatrous
neighbours, and in every refpecf. fitted to be an example and inftru&ien.
to them under the various difpenfations wherewith they were vifited.
And further, their laws and religious inftitutions being originally re-
corded in books, would more certainly be preferved and known in all fu-
ture ages and generations. Thus God provided a flore-houfe of reli-
gious knowledge, a whole nation of priefts, Exact, xix. 6. a fchoolof in-
ftruc/rion and wifdom for all the world. Or the nation of Ifraelites may
be confidered as a piece of leaven which in procefs of time was to lea-
ven the whole lump or mafs of mankind.
Abraham, a perfon of the moft eminent piety and virtue, was chofeu
to be the head and father of this nation ; that, as he would always be held
in great veneration among them, he might always fhine before their eves
as an illuftrious pattern of godlinels.
The ground of this fcheme, and of God's fingular regards to Abra-
ham and his pofterity, was the Covenant of Grace, the Promise
or grant of favour and bleflings to mankind in fejus Chrifl our Lord.
Who verily was fore -ordained before the foundation of the world, though" not
manifefled till the lafl thnes. 1 Pet. i. 20. This Covenant or grant was
ftrft publifhed to Adam. Gen. iii. 15. Her, the woman's, feedfoall bruife
thy head, O ferpent, and thou /halt bruife his heel. Nor could it be wholly
unknown to the Patriarchs ; but it was much more clearly revealed to
Abraham. Gen. xii. 3. xvii. 7. xviii. 18. xxii. 16, 17, 18. And this
is the fubjedt which now requires our particular attention. [See the
Treatife on the Covenant of Grace, &c]
CHAP. XXVII.
The Methods of Divine Wisdom in raifing up a new and religious
Nation.
TO return to the age in which Abraham lived. The delufions of
idolatry were fo ftrong, and the human underftanding fo weaky
that all nations feem to have run into it at once and alike ; and fuch
was the infatuating and fpreading nature of the infection, that there was
no rational profpett of the reformation of any one of them. Violence
could
HO the Methods of Divine IVifdom, tyf. Ch. XXVII.
could not be ufed, argument and reafoning would have no effect, the
moft dreadful judgments were forgotten, or difregarded *. The know-
ledge and worihip of the one living and true God, the great principle of
moral goodnefs, and of public and private happinefs, would have been
totally loft in the earth. But the Father and Governor of men provided
a remedy. Inftead of deftroying all nations, as at the deluge, it was
the merciful fcheme of Divine Wifdom to create, out of one pious and
faithful perfon, Abraham, a new and religious nation, feparated from all
th~ reft, in order to afcertain among them, and at length among all na-
tions, right fentiments of his Being, Perfections, and Providence. And
it is greatly worth our while to obferve the fteps and Methods by which
God was pleafed to train them up for this purpofe.
Firft, Abraham is required to caft himfelf wholly upon God's Pro-
vidence, by removing, at God's command, from his own kindred and
country, to an unknown diftant land, which God would {hew him ; af-
furing him of his prefence and fpecial blefling. Genrfts xii. i, 2, 3. Thus
God took him under his immediate care and protection. In this ftrange
land he wandered about as long as he lived, but God was with him every
where. God appeared to him, and converfed with him frequently and
familiarly. By extraordinary interpofition?, and exprefs declarations,
from time to time, God encouraged, directed, profpered, guarded and
provided for him. He became very rich, great, and honourable ; but
all was moft vifibly the gift and operation of God. God gave him re-
peated affurances, that he would make of 'him a great nation, give his po-
sterity the whole land of Canaan, and that in his feed all the nations of the
earth Jhouldbe blefj'ed. But he was not to have a fon, till the birth of
that fon was manifeftly the extraordinary miraculous effect of Divine
Power, and infured the performance of the promifes. What could be
more engaging than all thefe circumftances ? What more proper to ex-
cite in a man, duty, affection, and confidence towards God ? The fame
encouragements, bleftings, and promifes are repeated to Ifaac, and af-
terwards to Jacob, and the fame heavenly correfpondence is kept open
with them during their lives. Egypt, then a plentiful country, of genius
and learning, \_Acls vii. 22.] the refort of the curious and inquifitive,
was chofen to be the nurfery of this family. Thither was Jofeph firft
carried by a fingular Providence, fold for a Have, and moft unjuftly caft
into prifon, but only that God might fhew himfelf in his enlargement.
By means which God only could provide and direct, he was at once re-
leafed from a jail, and raifed to almoft regal honour and authority.
And in high dignity and efteem, and with aitonifhing fuccefs, which
none but God could give, in the moft important affairs, he continued
all the days of his life.
By him God predicted feven years of prodigious plenty in Egypt, and
feven fucceeding years of the moft diftremng famine in the land, and in
all the adjacent countries. By this event, Jacob's whole family, in all
feventy-two fouls, were brought to refide, with the great good-will of
the king, and of the whole nation, in Gofhen, the richeft province in
the
* Reckoning by the age of man, the world was 20 years old ; for God
called Abraham in the year of the world 2083.
Ch. XXVII. The Methods of Divine Hifdom, &c. ill
the land of Egypt, Gen. xlviii. 6. where their fituation, manners, and
way of living, would keep them feparate from their idolatrous neigh-
bours. Gen. xliii. 32. xlvi. 34. Thus God, by a furprifmg train of
events, introduced the family of Abraham into the nurfery where they
were to grow up into a nation. At length a prince arofe, who knew,
or regarded, nst Jofeph, Exodus i. 8. Then they fell into a ftate of fla-
very, and the fevereit oppieffion and fuffering, for about 140 years. But
this was only to render the power of God more confpicuous in their
prefervation and deliverance. The more they are oppiefled, and the
more cruelly they were ufed, the more they increafe and flourifh,
till they were numerous enough to be formed into a nation. Then
]\Iofes was miraculoufly preferred, educated by Pharaoh's daughter
in all the wifdom of the Egyptians, and railed up to be their deliverer.
And now the vials of Divine Wrath are poured out one after another
upon Egypt. God made bare his arm, or gave the moft fignal and fin-
king demonftrations of his Being and Power, infinitely fuperior not only
to ail human ftrength, but alfo to all the pretended Deities in which
the Egyptians trufted. Exodus xii. 12.
To this end (1.) the Divine Wifdom permitted, on this fpeeial occa-
fion, Pharaoh's magicians, poflibly by the miniftry of evil fpirits,. or by
extraordinary powers immediately communicated to the enchanters, to
imitate fome of the miracles which Mofes wrought, in order to difplay
more clearly his own Divine Power ; and to convince both Egyp::a::;
and Ifraelites of the vanity of fuch arts, by controlino; and defeating
them, even when exercifed in the highefr degree. So a man was born
blind, and Lazarus died, on purpofe to give our Lord an opportunity of
demonflrating his power, and the truth of his miffion. John ix. 3. xi. 4.
And for that reafon, an extraordinary power might be permitted to
evil fpirits to poffefs the bodies of men, that our Saviour's dominion over
the devil and his angels might be more evidently {hewn. The invifible
world of fpirits may undergo many variations, and be fubjedt to diffe-
rent reftraints and regulations in different ages, fo as to interfere more
or lefs, or not at all in human affairs. Jortin.
(2.) God hardened Pharaoh's heart, by granting himrefpite from one
plague after another, that he might multiply, and fo render more con-
fpicuous, the demonftrations of his Being and Supreme Dominion.
And this is all that God did towards hardening Pharaoh's heart. See
Exodus viii. 15. ix. 34, 35, and verfe 15, 16. For now, faith the Lord, /
have fir etched out my hand [in the preceding plague of boils and blains,!
and I have /mitten thee, and thy people, with the peflilence, and [by this
plague] thor^ mighteji have been cut off from the earth. But in very deed
for this caufe [have raifed thee up, [I have reftored thee to health, by re-
moving the peftilential boils,] that by refpiting thy deftru&ion, I may
fhew in thee more and greater proofs of my Almighty Power.
All the miracles which God wrought in Egypt^ were fuch as muft be
feen and acknowledged to come from him alone, and not from any pof-
fible power of man, or from any natural accidents. This is true of all
the ten plagues, but efpecially of the laft. The peftilence, inordinary
cafes, iweeps away multitudes promifcuoufly ; but when it finglcth out
only the firft-born in every family, it mult plainly appear to be a judg-
ment
112 The Methods of Divine Wlfdom, fete Ch. XXVIL
ment immediately from the hand or direction of God ; [Exodus xii. 29.]
as it was to the Ifraelltes a juft retribution of the cruelty of the Egyp-
tians in endeavouring to delrroy all their male children. Exodus i. 16.
[Note — In thof'e ages and circumftances of the world, when men were
not fo capable of being convinced by abftract reasoning, and probably
understood nothing of the perfections of God a priori, his fuprtme au-
thority and omnipotence would be beft demonttrated by faits, which ex-
perimentally proved his uncontroled dominion over all other powers, and
over univerfal Nature.] At laft Phaiaoh and his people give up the
caufe. God's Superior power is owned, becaufe fo dreadfully experien-
ced. The Egyptians urge them to depart, and to remove all objections
that might hinder their departure, willingly give them the moft precious
and valuable of their poSTdlions, [which, by the way, might be but
equal payment for the labour of fo great a multitude, for 140 years.]
Sec Exodus xii. 33, &c. Verfe 35. And the children of Jfrael — ^Nttf'l
ajked of the Egyptians jewels, tkc. i. e. afked the Egyptians to give them
jewels, &c. [bx& Signifies to afk to give, as well as to lend. Jofh. xv.
18, 19. xix. 50. Jud. v. 25. viii. 25, 26. Pfal. ii. 8. See Hebrew
EngliSh Concordance.] Verfe 36. So that they lent unto them, &c. +
So that they readily gave them, &c. CD^Nii"! in Hipbkld to make to
afk, i.e. to encourage, to gratify afking by freely giving. [Note
Upon theoccafion of the death of all the firft-born among the Egyptians,
and the departure of the Ifraelltes out of Egypt, a commemorative festi-
val, the paffover, is instituted; an ordinance very proper for preferving
the perpetual memory of the power and goodnefs of God among the
Ifraelltes.
The Ifraelltes leave Egypt, in number no lefs than twenty-four hun-
dred thoufand, Num. i. 45,46. and all Nature giveth way before them.
A paSTage is open for them through the Red- fea, which clofes upon, and
overwhelms Pharaoh and his purfuing army. Pillars of cloud and fire,
alternately appearing in the air, direct their march. Bitter fountains
are made fweet. In a dry, thirfty, barren country, they are Supplied with
water from the hard and flinty rock, and with food from the Sky for
forty years together. With all the appearances of glory and dreadful
majefty, God, as their King and Sovereign, eftabliShed his Covenant,
or entered into a Solemn contract, with them in mount Horcb ; choofing
them for a peculiar treafure above all people, Exodus xix. 5. and engaging
himfelf to be their God and King, and to beStow on them all national
blelTings upon condition they were obedient, adhered to his worfhip,
and kept clear of idolatry, with which they had been tinctured in Egypt,
(Lev. xvii. 7. Jofh. xxiv. 14. Ezek. xx. 8.) otherwife they might ex-
pect the fevereft judgments, Deut. xxix. 10, &c. At the Same time he
gave them a SyStem of laws and Statutes, moft excellent in thcmfelvcs,
fitted to their preSent temper and circumftances, as well as to the future
intents and purpofes oS the GoSpel diSpenSation. Here God took up his
refidence among them in the tabernacle, afterwards in the temple, Set-
ting himfelf at the head of their affairs, and upon all important occa-
sions directing them as an oracle. And all this, to attach and unite this
one nation to himfelf.
At
C H . X X V 1 1 . The Methods of Divine Wifdom, &c. 1 1 3
At length, through a train of very ftriking miracles, (Jordan divided,
the walls of "Jericho thrown down) he brought them into the promifed
land, with a commiflion to deftroy all the inhabitants, the meafure of
whole iniquity was then full; and who probably were more corrupt
than any of their neighbours, and as deferving of deftruclion as Sodom
and Gomorrha, for all the idolatrous, brutifh, cruel, inccftuous, and
unnatural crimes, which univerfally prevailed amongft them. Had the
Jfraelites been mixed with the idolatrous Canaanites, they would foon have
loft the knowledge of God, and been involved in all their corruptions j
but being made the inftruments of their deftruclion, this would give
them the greater horror of thofe crimes, which they knew (for Mofes
had told them, Dent. ix. 4, 5.) were thus dreadfully avenged by their
arms. Moreover, thus they would give themfelves a clear demonftra-
tion, that idol gods had no power to defend and preferve their votaries.
Therefore it was not unjuft in God to command the deftruclion of the
Canaanites, nor cruel in his fervants to execute that command, (any
more than it is to extirpate outlaws, and the worft of criminals, by legal
authority) but in the views of Divine Wifdom, the propereft way of
extirpating them, confidering the effects it would have upon the minds
of the Jfraelites.
Here we may obferve, (1.) That the Ifraelites made no claim to the
land of Canaan in their own right. The right was in God, who gave
it them. (2.) We may obferve a good reafon why the Divine Wifdom
erected this fcheme for preferving true religion, only in the one nation
of the Ifraelites. Becaufe, had he feiecled a pious perfon and his family,
as he feiecled Abraham and his pofterity , out of every nation upon
earth, then, to make room for them, every nation upon earth muft have
been devoted to deftruclion, as the Canaanites were. But feeing the
whole earth was not filled with violence, injuftice, rapine, and oppref-
fion, God in much lenity and forbearance was pleafed to wink at, or
overlook, the ignorance and error of other nations, without punifhing
them as they deferved, Ads xvii. 30. leaving them to the light of Na-
ture, Acls xiv. 16. to feel, or grope after his exiftence and perfections,
Acls xvii. 26, 27. and to the dictates of conscience, for their conduct in
life; while he continued his providential care in giving the fupplies of
life, and vifiting them with fuitable difpenfations ; and will, at laft,
judge them in perfect equity, making allowance for all unavoidable de-
feels. Ram. ii. 6, 10, u, 12.
Even after the Ifraelites were fettled in the land, the danger of idolatry
was not over. They were ready on every occafion to catch the infec-
tion from their neighbours ; and ftill there was need of further Divine
Interpofitions. And through a long courfe of years they were exercifed
with various difpenfations, according as they did or did not adhere to
the worftiip of God. When they clave unto the Lord, they were pro-
fperous and triumphant; when they forfook him, and followed ftrange
gods, they were in great diftrefr, in fervitude, and captivity ; till by re-
peated calamities, and lignal deliverances, accompanied with the clearer
light, and more rational convictions, which, at length, they were pre-
pared to receive from their prophets, they were at laft weaned from ido-
Vol. I. H latry,
114 The Methods of Divine TVifdom, &c. Ch. XX VII.
latry, after the Babylonifh captivity, about 955 years after their return
out of Egypt ; and never relapfed into it again *.
All this was neceflary, and, in confidence with human agency, and
the gradual improvements of mankind, was the propereft method to
preferve the knowledge of the true God in the world, not only in that
fingle nation, but in all the nations of the earth. For the difpenfation
among the fezus, like a piece of leaven, which leaveneth the whole
mafs, was intended for the benefit of all mankind ; as by this means
they became examples and inftructors, while they remained in their
own country, to all their neighbours; and when in captivity, or di-
fperfion, as they carried with them the knowledge of God into the
countries where they were difperfed; till the nations mould, by this
and other means of improvement, be prepared to receive the clcareft re-
velation of the true God, and of eternal life by the McJJiah. Which
was the great end and defign of the fcheme which we have been con-
fidering.
And now, the more a thinking man revolves in his mind this train of
affairs, and fees how one nation are led, ftep by ftep, as their capacities
would admit, to a fenfe of the pre-eminence and fovcreignty of the true
God, in order to be fet apart as the repofitory of his facred Jaws and re-
ligion, till they and all mankind are fit for the reception of them in a
more fimple, clear, and extenfive form, under the Gofpel, the more he
will confefs and admire the iignatures of wifdom and goodnefs that ap-
pear through the whole and every part of the economy.
There is one thing deferves particular attention, I mean, the fpirit
and behaviour of the Ifraelites in the wildernefs. A very remarkable
inftance of the wretched effects of fervitude upon the human foul.
They had been flaves to the Egyptians for about 140 years; their fpirits
were debafed, their judgments weak, their fenfe of God and religion
very low : they were very defective in attention, gratitude, generofity ;
full of diftruft and uneafy fuipicions ; complaining and murmuring un-
der the mod aftonifhing difplays of Divine Power and GoodnefSj as if
itill under the frowns and feourges of their unjuft tafk-mafters ; could
fcarce raife their thoughts to profpc&s the molt pleafing and joyous ;
knew not how to value the bleffings of liberty ; of a talte fo mean and
illiberal, that the flefh and fifh, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks,
onions and garlick, and fuch good doings in Egypt, weighed more with
them than bread from heaven, and all the Divine aflurances and demon-
ftrations that they fhould be raifed to the nobleft privileges, the higher!
honour and felicity, as a peculiar treafure to God, above all people in
the world. Num. xi. 4, 5, 6.
In fliort, nothing would do; the ill qualities of ilavcry were engrain-
ed in their hearts ; a groveling, thoughtlefs, fturdy, dallardly fpirit fa-
tigued the Divine Patience, counteracted and defeated all his wife and
beneficent meafures ; they could not be worked up to that fenfe of God,
that
* Reckoning by the zgc of man, the world was then 34 years eld ; for the
Jews returned from the Babjlonijb captivity about the year of the world
3468.
Ch. XXVIII. Of the JdwiJJ) Ritual, or Ceremonial Law. 1 15
that efteem of his higheft favours, that gratitude and generous dutiful-
nefs, that magnanimity of fpirit, which were neccffary to their conquer-
ing and enjoying the promifed land. And therefore the wifdom of God
determined they fhould not attempt the pofTeffion of it, till that gene-
ration of flaves, namely, all above 20 years of age, were dead and bu-
ried. However, this did not lie out of the Divine plan. It ferved a
great purpofe, namely, to warn that, and all future ages of the church,
both Jewijh and Christian, that if they defpife and abufe the goodnefs of
God, and the noble privileges and profpects they enjoy, they fhall for-
feit the benefit of them. And the Apoftle applieth it to this very im-
portant ufe, with great force and propriety, in theepiftle to the Hebrews,
chap. ii. ver. 15, to the end, and chap. iv. ver. I — 12.
Thus, for a general view of this noble fcheme. The nature and
excellency of it will ftand in a ftronger light, if we examine the parti^
cular privileges and honours conferred upon this diftinguifhed nation,
their tendency to promote piety and virtue, and the relation they bear to
the ftate of things under the Gofpel. For this part of the fubjeel we
muft turn to my Key to the Apoflolic Writings.
CHAP. XXVIII.
Of the Jewi/b Ritual, or Ceremonial Law.
WE muft now turn back to the Mofaic Conftitution ; which con-
firmed, 1. Of political and judicial Laws. For which confult
Mr. Lowman on The Civil Government of the Hebrews. 2. Of moral
precepts, fuch as the ten commandments. 3. Of Rites and Ceremo-
nies, fuch as circumcifion, facrifices, warnings, purifications, the ufe
of certain garments, &c. and divers Rites ufed by the priefts in the
tabernacle. For a particular account of which, confult Mr. Lowman
en the Ritual of the Hebrew Worfiip. I fhall only obferve in general,
that the dtfign of thofe Ceremonies, juftly explained, was to convey re-
ligious and moral inftru&ions, as well as the exprefs precepts.
Hieroglyphics, which reprefentthefenfe of the mind, by outward figures,
or anions, were the firft and moft ancient literature. So the govern-
ment of the world by Divine Providence, and its extraordinary inter-
pofition in favour of good men, is reprefented by a ladder ftanding upon
the earth, and reaching to heaven, with the angels afcending and de-
fending on it, to receive and execute orders from God above, who
ruleth over all. Gen. xxviii. 12, 13. In the ftyle of this Hieroglyphic our
Lord fpeaks, John\. 51. Hereafter Jhall you fee heaven open, and the an-
gels of God afcending and defending upon the Son of Man, as upon Jacob;
meaning, you fhall fee an extraordinary Divine Interpofition working in
H 2 my
1 1 6 Of the Jcwl/h Ritual, or Co cm onialLciu., C H . X X V 1 1 T ,
my favour, by many miraculous operations. [Dr. Benson.] The exalta-
tion of Jofepb above the reft of the family, was reprefented by the Hie-
roglyphic of his fhcaf {landing upright, and the eleven fheaves of his
broihers ftanding round about and bowing to it ; as alfo of the fun,
moon, and eleven ftars, making obeifance to him. Gen. xxxvii. 7, 9.
The tribe afjudah is reprefented by a young lion ; IJfacbar, by a ftrong
afs ; Daily by a ferpent lurking in the road; Naphtali, by a hind; Jofepb,
by a fruitful bough ; Benjamin, by a ravening wolf. Gen. xlix. 9, 14,
Sec. A rod or ftaff, as it is an inftrument of (hiking or beating down,
is the Hieroglyphic of power exerted in conquering, punifhing , ruling,
Ifaiab x. 5, 24; and of dominion and authority, Pfalm ex. 2; and as
fuch, is continued to this day, under the nameof a fceptre. With fuch
a rod Mofes and Aaron appeared before Pkarach, as hieroglyphically re-
prefenting the power and authority of God, in whofe name they demand-
ed the releafe of the [jraclites. Exod. vii. 15. And thus they appeared
as men of learning, and a&ed agreeably to the literature of the age. A
horn reprefented temporal power and dominion. 1 Sam. ii. TO. 1 Kin.
xxii. 11. Pfal. ixxxix. 24. A yoke, fuch as flaves carried upon their
fhoulders, fervitude, or bondage. Gen. xxvii. 37, 40. Jcr. xxvii. 2,6.
xxviii. 10.
This may ferve to explain the nature of hieroglyphics ; a fort of lan-
guage the Jews were then accuftomed to, being the learning of that
age, which they would underftand much better than abftracl: reafonings
about moral truths and duties. We may therefore, on this account,
well admit, that the Rites and Ceremonies of their religious inftitution
were hieroglyphic, and intended by external reprefentations to give them
ufeful inftru&ions in true religion and real goodnefs. If we confult the
Prophets and Apoftles, who were well acquainted with their meaning,
we mall find fo much evidence of the moral and fpiritual intention of fo
many, as may induce us to believe, this was the fenfe and fpirit of all
the reft.
They were enjoined various and frequent ablutions, or wafhings with
water ; the common ufe of which is to difcharge the body from all dirt
and filth, and to keep it clean. This was a very eafy reprefentation of
purity of mind, or of an heart purged from the filth of fin. And fo
the Prophets underftood it. Pfal.W.i. Wajbmefrom mine iniquity. Ver.
7. Wajbme, and I Jh all be clean. Ifai. i. 16. JVaJh your/elves, make your-
/elves clean, put away the evil of your doings. Ccafe to do evil, learn to
do well. Jer. iv. 14. Actsxxii. 16. Heb.x.22. Rev. i. 5. Anointing
with oil, or ointment, by which the head was beautified, and the coun-
tenance exhilarated, had the fignification of honour, joy, holinefs, and
jnfpiratioi), P/al.xW.j. /y^x x. 38. The priefts officiated in garments
of fine linen, Exod. xxxtx. 27 ; meaning, that the priefts mould be
clothed, or have their fouls adorned with righteoufnefs. Pfal. exxxii. 9.
For the fine linen is the righteoufnefs of Saints. Rev. xix. 8. Burning of
incenfe, whofe fmoak rifcth up with a pleafant fmell, was an hierogly-
phic reprefentation cf acceptable prayer. Pfiil. cxli. 2. Luke i. 10. Rcu.
viii. 3, 4. Circumcifion had relation to the heart and foul, or to the re-
trenching all inordinate affections and inclinations. Lev. xxvi. 41. Deut.
x. 12 — 17. xxx. 6. Jer. iv. 4. Rm% ii. 29. The fprinkling of blood,
and
Ch. XXIX. The Scripture-Chronology. 117
and of the water of reparation, {Num. xix. 13, 19.} was hieroglyphic,
and had a moral fignification. See Heb. ix. 13, 14. x. 22. xii. 24.
I Pet. i. 2. And fo had the muzzled mouth of the ox, Dcut. xxv. 4.
compared with 1 Cor. ix. 9, 10. 1 Tim. v. 17, 18.
Some may have indulged too much to imagination, and found more
myfteries in the Hebrew Ritual than were really defigned ; but thefe in-
ftances, explained by authentic evidence, may convince us, that the
whole had a rational and fpiritual meaning. And as we are taught in
the Gofpel every thing relating to virtue and religion in the plaineft
manner, we need not give ourfelves much trouble about difcovering the
meaning of the other Rites, which are not explained by Prophets and
Apoftles. Only the affair of facrifices is fo often alluded to in the New
Teftament, and feems to have fuch refpeft to the facrificeof our Lord,
that it demands a more particular examination. [Turn to the Scripture"
Doclrine of Atonement.]
CHAP.
XXIX.
The Scripture-Chronology from the Exodus io the Founding of
Solomon'.* Temple.
THIS fpace of time was 480 years ; as appears from 1 Kings, vi. r.
which is made out, in the belt manner I have yet feen , as
follows :
Years before
C brill.
J45i
1426
From the Exodus to the death
of Mfs, and fucceflion of
Jojhua.
Note — Mofei was 40 years
old, when he fled out of
Egypt, Acts vii. 23. He was
40 years with Jcthro, Exod.
vii. 7. and 40 years in the
wildernefs with thelfraelites.
Therefore, he was 1 20 when
he died. Deut. xxxiv. 7.
From the fucceflion of 'Jojlma
to his death.
Note — after the death of
idolatry, Judg.
And in thofe
H3
ii. 7, bV.
licentious
times,
Years. Proofs.
40
25
Exod. vii. 7.
ASls vii. 30.
Jofephus.
n8
Year? before
Chrift.
1391
1383
'343
I325
The Scripture-Chronology.
times, about the year before
Chrift 1398, the events re-
corded in the xviith and
xviiith chapters of the book
of Judges, by which ido-
latry was introduced into the
tribe of Ephraim, and by
that means propagated a-
mong the Danites, might
happen. For it was in the
times when there was no
king in Ifrael. And in the
fame unhappy period fell
out, moft probably, the war
of the eleven tribes a^uinil
Benjamin, of which we read
Ju g. xix. xx. xxi. chap
ters. For Phineas, the fon
of Eleazar, ( Jofh. xxiv. 33
1 Chron. vi. 4.) who afce
the death of Jojhua fucceed-
ed his father, about the year
before Chrift 1402, was then
high-prieft, Judg. xx. 2
And in thofe days alfo there
was no king in Ifrael, chap
xxi. 25. which {hews it was
in the fame times with the
preceding events.
From the death of jojhua to
the bondage of Kaft-Jjrael
under Cujhan.
To their deliverance by Oth
niel.
To the bondage of Ezfr-Ifrael
under Eg/on, king of Moab, 40
To their deliverance by Ehud
[After which, that part of 18
Ifrael had reft for 80 years,
Judg. iii. 30.] Note — It
may probably be fuppofed,
that fcarce any of the judges
ruled over the whole coun-
try of Ifrael, but fome in one
part, and fome in another;
fo that, at the fame time,
there might be feveral j udges
in feveral parts of the land ;
and
Ch.XXIX.
Proofs.
Judg. iii. 8.
. . 9, 10, 11.
.. 12, 13, 14.
• • • I5—30-
Ch. XXIX.
Years before
Chrift.
1245.
1238
1199
1196
"73
The Scripture-Chronology,
1 Years.
and peace and liberty in one
part, when there was war
and fiavery in another. The
eaftern part, that had fhaken
off the yoke of Moab, had
reft 80 years ; but, in the
mean while, the Philijlines
invaded the weftern parts,
and were repulfed by Sham-
gar^ Judg. iii. 31. After-
ward Jabin afflicted the nor-
thern tribes, chap. iv. 2.
while the eaftern parts ftill
remained in peace. See Bp.
Patrick on Judg. xi. 26.
To the deliverance of North-
Ifrael from Jabin, by Debo-
rah and Baruch. [After
which that part of the land
had reft 40 years. Judg. v.
To the bondage of North and
Eaft Ifrael under the Midi-
anites, for 7 years . Note —
In fome of thofe 7 years
probably, Elimelech removed
into the land of Moab^ by
reafon of the famine, occa-
fioned by the depredations
of the Midianites, Rutbi. 1
2. Judg. vi. 4.
TotncirdeliverancebyGidW.
Yo Abimclcctis ufurpation, 40
years, or 39 complete.
To Tola, judge over North
and Eaft Ifrael.
To J air, judge over North
and Eaft Ifrael.
Note While J air was
judge, North and EaftT/ra^/
were in bondage to the Am-
monites iS years, Judg. x.8
At the fame time with Jair,
Eli began to judge South
and Weft Ifrael 40 years,
I Sam. iv. 18; all which
time that part of Ifrael was
oppreffed by the Philijlines,
H4 Judg,
119
43
40
Proofs.
Authority of
Chronologers.
Judg. vi.
7
39
3
23
Jud. vi
viti. 28.
IX. 22.
120
Years before
Chrift.
1152
1 147
1 140
1*23
130
122
Tbe Scripture-Chronology.
Years.
Judg. xiii. I. In the firft
of thofe forty years of Eli
which was alio the firft )ear
of Jair, Samfon might be
born j who lived 40 years,
and judged Weil-Ifrael,
(while Eli alio was judge
there, and while thai part
of the country was under
the Pbdijiines,) 20 years
Judg. xv. 20. [Eli judg-
ing in civil affairs ; Samfon
by haraffing the Pkilijiine.
Usher.] About the 13th
year of Eli, before Chri/i
116c, 6W^/might be burn.
From Jair to Jcphtbah,
who delivered North and
Eaft Ijrael from the Ammo-
nites^ 22, or 21 complete
years.
From Jephthah to Jbzan, over
North and Kail: Ifraet, fix,
or five complete years.
From Jbzan to his fucceflbr
Eton, in North and Eaft-
Ifrael. 7
About the fifth year of Elon
Samuel was publicly known
to be a Prophet, 1 Sam. iii
20. iv. I. About the fc-
venth of Elon, Samfon pulled
down the temple, Judg.xv\.
30. and deftroyed great
numbers of the Pbilijiines.
Usher thinks that this ca-
lamity might encourage the
South and Wift jtfraelites
to give them battle, 1 Sam.
iv. 1, cif>.
From Elon to Abdon, over
No th and Eaft Jfrael
From Abdon to his fucceflbr
Samuel, who now was alfo
judge over North and Eafl
Jfrael, as he had been be-
fore over South and Wefl
Ifrael, I Sam, vii. 15, 16,
17. pro-
Ch. XXIX.
Proofs.
Judg. x. 3.
. . . xii. 7.
9-
Judg. xii. 11.
Ch. XXX.
Years before
Chrift.
1094
J 054
1014
Authors vj'ithin the "Period, &C
Years.
17. probably, from the time
that he was publicly known
to be a Prophet.
From Samuel to king Saul. 28
From Saul to David. 40
From David to Solomon. 40
From Solomon to the founding
of the temple, four, or three
complete years.
In all . . . 480
121
Proofs.
Judg. xii. 14.
Chronologers
Ails xiii. 21.
1 Kings ii. 11.
1 Kings vi.
CHAP.
XXX.
Authors within the Period from the Exodus to the Founding of Solomon's
Temple.
ABOUT the beginning of this Period books began to be written;
and it hath furnifhed the world with the nobleft productions,
both in hiftory, poetry, and the initructive kind.
The Book of JOB.
I f Job wrote his own book ; or if it was written by Elihu, one of the
interlocutors, as fome gather from chap, xxxii. 10, 15, &c. where he
fpeaks iii the language of the writer of the Book; and if Mofes found it
when he was w'nhjahro \\\Midian, and tranferibed it, adding the hifto-
rical parts at the beginning and the end ; then thisBook of Job is earlier
than this Period, and the oldeft Book in the world. And, as it is wor-
thy of the higheft antiquity, any of thefe fuppofitions.is far more pro-
bable than theirs who imagine it was written in a later age, about the
time of the Babylonijh captivity.
The PENTATEUCH.
That Mofes wrote the Pentateuch, or fivefold volume, (from vtnt,
quinque, and rtv^, volumen, liber, (containing the five books in the
Bible, we have the lame realbn to believe, as we have that Homer wrote
the
122 Authm within the Period Ch. XXX.
the Iliad-, namely, the confent of all the learned in all ages. The firft
of thefe books is Genefis, jWm3 containing the only hiftory of the
world from the creation down to Jacob's removing into Egypt, for 2298
years. 2. Exodus, niDltf is the hiftory of the departure of the Ifraelitcs
out of Egypt, and of the erecting and furnifhingof the tabernacle. 3. Le-
viticus, tnp'1 in which are the laws, ceremonies, and facrifices of the
Jewifh religion, and what particularly related to the Levites. 4. Num-
bers, -mD3 begins with the numbering of the Jfraelites; after which
feveral laws and remarkable events are recorded. 5. Deuteronomy, DH31
is a repetition and an abridgement of the law, with exhortations and
motives to the obfcrvance of it.
The Book of JOSHUA.
Joshua probably wrote the laft chapter of Deuteronomy, and the Book
of Jojhua, containing an account of his own acts, in conquering and
dividing the land of Canaan; and Phineas, the high prieft, might add
the five lad: verfes relating to the death of Jojhua, and of his father Ele-
azar the high-prieft.
The Book of JUDGES,
Was certainly written before the fecond book of Samuel ; compare
2 Sam. x'i. 21. with "fudg. ix. 53; and before David had taken Jerufale m,
2 Sam. v. 6. Judg. i. 21. Samuel, the Prophet, or Seer, the laft of the
Judges, was an hiftorian, 1 Chron. xxix. 29. and probably wrote this
Book of Judges ; in which we read the great efficacy of religion to
make a nation happy, and the difmal calamities which impiety brings
along with it. St. Paul (Hcb. xi. 32.) points out fome examples of
heroic, and furprifingly fuccefsful faith in Gideon, Barak, Sam/on, and
Jephthah, whofe hiftory is recorded in this Book. It confifts of two
parts, the one containing the hiftory of the Judges, from Othniel to Sa-
mueU which part ends with the xvith chapter; the other, containing fe-
veral memorable actions, performed not long after the death of Jofljua,
. thrown to the end of the Book, that it might not interrupt the thread
1S the hiftory.
The Book of RUTH.
Ruth maybe confidered as an appendage to the book of Judges, and
brings down the hiftory to the times of Samuel, who probabiy was the
author of it, and draws the lineage of Judah down to David, chap. iv.
iS. Which makes it not unlikely, that it was written after David was
anointed by Samuel. 1 Sam. xvi. 13.
Here it may not be improper to obferve, that Samuel was not only an
author, but otherwife feems to have been a great promoter of literature
and religion. We never read of the companies or colleges of Prophets
till
Ch. XXX. from the Exodus, tec. 123
till this time; and therefore, probably, he erected them. They were
feminaries for the inftruction of youth in the knowledge of the law, and
for training them up in the exercifes of piety ; particularly in the finging
of facred hymns, in concert with instrumental mufic. This, in the lan-
guage of thofe times, was prophelying, 1 Sam. x. 5. 1 Chron. xxv. 1,2,
3, 7. They were not, ftrictly fpeaking, all of them Prophets; but upon
ibme of them God beftowed the fpint of prophecy, or of predicting
future events, 2 Kings li. 3. And we may fuppofe, that moft of the Pro-
phets, properly fo called, came out of thofe fchools. Amos excepts him-
jfelf, chap. vii. 14. 1 was no Prophet, neither was I a Prophet's fony
i. e. Difeiple; for the fcholars were called the Jons of the Prophets. At
their head, as governor, they had fome venerable truly-infpired Prophet,
who was called their father. 1 Sam. x. 12. 2 Kings ii. 12. Samuel was
one, and perhaps the firft of thofe fathers, or governors. I Sam. xix. 20.
Elijah was another. 2 Kings ii. 12. And EHJha fucceeded him in this
office. 2 Kings iv. ?8. Eiijha came to Gilgal and the fans of the Pro-
phets were fitting before him. The mafter, ox father, fat above; and the
fcholars below, before him, at his feet. 2 Kings ii. 3. Knowejl thou that
the Lo-d wili take away thy majler from thy head? or from the feat, where
he fits above thy head See Acls xxii. 3. They lived together in
fociety, 2 Kings vi. 1 ; and when they had done their lectures, and reli-
gious exercifes, were wont to eat together with their mafters. 2 Kings
iv. 38, &c. This inftitution had a manifeft tendency to advance religion
and learning.
I. II. SAMUEL.
1 Samuel was wrote before 1 Kings. 1 Kings ii. 17. 1 Sam. ii. 31,
35, compared; and it is not unreafonably fuppofed, that Samuel wrote
the fir ft 24. chapters; and that, after his death, the hiftory of David
was continued in the firft 3nd fecond Books of Samuel by the Prophets
Gad and Nathan. 1 Chron. xxix. 29.
I. II. KINGS.
These Books contain the hiftory of the kings of Judah and Ifraefy
from Solomon to the captivity in Babylon, for the fpace of 423 years. In
this Pciod were feveral hiftoriographers ; for we read of the book of the
Acls f Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 41. which Acls of Solomon were recorded in
the book of Nathan the Prophet, and in the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite,
and in the Viftons of Iddo the Seer. 2 Chron. ix. 29. Which Iddo was
employed, together with Shcmaiah the Prophet, in writing the Acts of
Rehoboam. 2 Chron. xii. 15. We alfo read of the book of Jehu, the
Prophet, relating the Acts of king Jcbofiaphat. 2 Chron. xx. 34.
1 Kings xvi. 1. And Ifaiah, the Prophet, wrote the Acts of king Uzziab,
2 Chron. xxvi. 22; and alfo of king Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxxii. 32. And
it is highly probable, that he wrote the hiftory of the two intermediate
kinss
124 Authors within the Period, is,'.: Ch. XXX.
kings Jotham and Ahaz, in whofe reigns he lived. If at. i. I. And, wc
may well fuppofe, all thefehiftories, added one to another, make the two
Books of Kings.
Note No writer of the hiftory of the kings of Judah or Jfrael is
any where exprefsly named; but his title is either given him as a Prophet,
or it appears from fome other part of Scripture that he was a Prophet.
This quality of the writer was given to draw from us a proportionable
refpedt, and make us receive the hiftory with the reverence which is its
due. The Prophets were the Jtivijh hiftorians; therefore to the hifto-
rical books, Jojhua, Judges, 1. II. Samuel, I. II. Kings, they give the
title of EWltMO O'N'IU the former Prophets ; as they give the title
of E3'3rinN D'N'HJ the latter Prophets, to Ifaiah, Jeremiah, &c.
The Book of PSALMS,
Was cempofed by fevcral authors, but chiefly by king David. Mofes
compofed the xcth Pfalm, when God had fhortened the lives of the
Israelites in the wilderncfs, as a pnnifhment for their unbelief. The
exxxviith Pfalm was indited foon after their tranfportation to the land of
Babylon, and captivity there, and the exxvith upon their return out of
it. Others were made upon other occafions; as may be {cen in their
titles, (although thofe are not fuppofed to be of the fame authority with
the text) or collected from the fenfe and fcope of the Pfalm. For which
Bp. Patrick's Paraphrafe may be confulted.
The Book of Pfalms is divided into five parts. The firft reaches to
the end of the xlift Pfalm; the fecond, to the end of the lxxiid Pfalm;
the third, to the end of the Ixxxixth ; the fourth, to the end of the cvith ;
and the fifth part, to the end of the whole.
It is a collection of divine odes, fublime and elegant, far beyond all
human compofitions ; confifting of the loftiefl celebrations of the Di-
vine Praifcs, the moft lively and fervent devotions of meditation, thanks-
giving, prayer and fupplication, faith, hope, and truft in God in every
condition, and the moft excellent inftru&ions in every branch of piety
and virtue. And the frequent reading of it hath a ftrong tendency to
eftablifh in our minds the principles of true wifdom, even every right
difpofition towards God and man; and that purity of heart, and ferenity
of mind, which is a fund of comfort and joy in the ways of God, and
will animate us to walk in them with fteadinefs and delight.
Mofes was the firft that compofed facred hymns, that we read of, Exod.
xv. Deborah the next, Judg. v. and then Hannah, I Sam. ii. But Da-
vid, an admirable a.tift in mufic, (i Sam. xvi. 18. Amos vi. 5.) car-*
ricd divine poetry and pfalmody to its perfection ; and therefore is called
the fwest Pfalmift cf Ifraef. 1 Sam. xxiii. I. He, doubtlefs by Divine
Authority, appointed the iinging of pfalms by a feleft company of fkil-
iul perfoiis, in the folemn worfliip of the tabernacle, 1 Chron. vi. 31.
xvi. 4 8. which Solomon continued in the temple, 2 Chron. v. 12, 13.
And fo did Ezra, as foon as the foundation of the fecond temple was
laid, Ezra iii. 10, II. Hence the people became well acquainted
with the fongs 6 f Si on ; and having committed them to memory, were
famous
Ch. XXXI. From the Founding of Solomon"1 a Temple, lie, 125
famous for melodious finging among the neighbouring countries. Pfat.
exxxvii. 3. And the continuance of this branch of divine worfhip is
confirmed by the practice of our Lord, and the inftrudtions of the
Apoftle. Mat. xxvi. 30. Mark xiv. 26. Ephef. v. 19. Ccl. iii. 16. See
alfo Rev. v. 9. xiv. 1, 2, 3. Pfalm-finging is a part of Chriftian wor-
fhip, which ought to be fupported, encouraged, and performed in the
mo ft fkilful and harmonious manner.
Thefe are the books that were written before the founding of Solomon's
Temple.
CHAP. XXXI.
Front the Founding of Solomon'^ Temple, till the Dejlruciion of it by
Nebuchadnezzar, 423 Tears.
Rules for calculating and adjufting the Chronology of this Period.
THE Chronology is here carried on by the facred Hiftorians in
a double feries of fucceeding kings; one in the kingdom of
Judah, the other in the kingdom of Ifrael; the year of the reign of
every king of fudah being mentioned, in which any king of Ifrael
began his reign ; and vice vcrfa. Therefore,
I. To be able to form a true judgment of the Chronology, it is ne-
ceiTary that we draw up two column?, one of the kings of judab, and
the other of the kings of Ifrael, in fuch manner, that the years of their
feveral reigns may be fet exactly over-againft each other; together with
the texts which prove the order of fucceflion, and the years of the feve-
ral reigns. Thus the two columns will be a check upon each other;
and the general rule will be,
II. So to ad j u it the correfponding numbers of years in both the co-
lumns, as that they may be reduced to a confiftency. Otherwife, the
calculation cannot be juft and true. Here lies the difficulty; and in
order to furmount it fome allowance muft be made. As,
III. That SuccelTors may be fuppofed fometimes to reign with their
fathers, when the confiftency of the two lifts of kings cannot otherwife
be made out. Thus it is certain, that Solomon was anointed king by
order of his father David. 1 Kings i. 34.. And Jehoram did begin
to reign while his father Jehofljaphat was alive. 2 Kings viii. 16.
IV. The years of reigns is delivered in full fums, without taking
notice of the odd parts of a year, either at the beginning, or at the end
of a reign. Therefore, to bring the two lifts to an agreement, it may rea-
fonably be fuppofed, that, for inftance, 12 years (or the 12th year) are
put down, when only eleven complete years are intended. So 2 Kings
XViii. 9, 10, it is faid/ that Salmanefer laid fiege to Samaria in the fourth
year
3
126 Fro?n the Founding of Solomons Temple, tfc. Ch. XXXI.
ycarofHezekiab's reign, and, after a ficge of three years, took it in the
fixth year of Hezekiah. Hence it appears, that the three years of the
fiege are not to be underftood of three full year?, but only of two fuch
years ; the liege beginning in the middle, fuppofe, of Hezckiab's fourth
year, continuing the whole fifth year, and ending in fome part of the
iixth year. It is therefore plain that, according to the ftyle of the fa-
cred hiftorians, one whole year and two parts or two years, one before,
and another after that year, may be called three years.
V. In a turbulent irate of things, an inter-rcgnum may be allowed,
where confiftency cannot be prefei ved without it.
VI. To find the year before Chrifr, (or before A. D.) in which
any reign began, fubtracl: the years of the preceding reign from that
year before A. D. in which the preceding reign began. To find the
year of the world, (or A. M ) fubtracl: the year before A. D. from
4004, which is the A. M. in which our Lord was born, according to
Archbifhop Usher, who is generally followed by our Chronologers.
Further, from 4714, the year of the Julian Period, conefponding to
A. M. 4004, fubtracl the year before A . D. and it will give tiie year of
the Julian Period. E. g. To know what year before A. D. Jehojhapbat
oegan to reign, iubtra£t 41, the years of his father Jfa's reign, from
the year before A. D. 955, when Afa began to reign, and the remain-
der will give 914, the year before A. D. when Jehojhapbat began to
reign. Subtract the year 914 from 4004, and it will give 3090, the
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T g CHAP-
J 34 Of the Babyhnijh Captivity. Ch. XXXII.
CHAP. XXXII.
The moral Caufes of the Babylonijb CaptiviTYj and the Propriety of
that Dlfpenfation.
THE whole Jewljh nation, both Judah and Ifrael, had all along
a ftrong and ftrange propenfity to idolatry, even after the erecting
of the temple, and the eftablifhing of the worfhip of God there, in the
moft grand and folemn manner. They erected altars to Jlrange gods,
frequented high-places and groves confecrated to idolatrous worfhip, and
furnifhed them with Idols and Images for that purpofe. 2 Chron. xiv. 3.
I Kings xv. 11, 12, 13. And their morals were juft as corrupt as their
religion, even to the degree of fodomy itfelf. 1 Kings xv. 12.
What their peculiar temptations were, we know not. All the endea-
vours of good kings, and all the preaching of holy Prophets, fent by fpe-
cial commiffion from God, were ineffectual to produce a reformation*
The pious king Hezekiah was zealous and active in rooting out idola-
try : but Manaffch, his fon and fuccefTor, reftored it again in the higheft
and moft flagitious degree of profanenefs- and iniquity, even beyond that
of the dark and ignorant nations. 2 Kings xxi. 1 10. He built up
again the high-places which Hezekiah his father had deflroyed, &c. He was
alfo a grievous perfecutor of all that would not conform to his idolatrous
eftablithments, and fo Jhed innocent blood very much, Amon, his fon, fol-
lowed his bad example. Jofiah, his grandfon, vigoroufly attempted a
reformation. 2 Kings xxiii. 24, 25. But the people never came heartily
into it. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14, &c. Jill the chief cf the priejls and the people
tranfgreffed very much, after all the aborning ' ms of the heathen, and polluted
the ho ufe of the Lord, whirl) he had hatlowMd in Jerufalem. And the Lord
God of their fathers fent to ihem by Li; < mejfer.gcrs, rifing up betimes, and fend-
ing ; becaufe he had companion on h£s people, and on his dwelling-place ; but
they mocked the meffengcrs of God, and defplfed his words, and mijufed his Pro-
phets, until the wrath of the Lord ar oft againjl his people, till there was no re-
medy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chalices, who flew their
young men with thefuuord, in the houfe of their fancluary, and had no com-
paffion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him thaxfeopedfor age 3 he gave
them all into his hand. And all the veffels of the houfe of God, great andfmall,
and thetrcafures of the houfe cf the Lord, and the treafures of the king, and of
his princes ; all theft he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the houfe of
God, ana brake down the wall of Jerufalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof
with fire, and defrayed all the goodly veffels thereof And them that efcaped
from the f word, carried he away to Babylon ; where they were fervants to him
and his fons, until the reign cf the kingdom of Pet fa.
Obferve This dreadful calamity came upon them gradually. Firff,
good king J of ah was, in judgment upon the land, (lain in battle by Pha-
raoh-Nccho, 2 Kings xxiii. 29. who put Jchoahaz that fucceeded him into
chains, fent him prifoner into Egypt, and put the land of Judah under a
heavy
Ch. XXXII. Of the Babylonljb Captivity. 1 35
heavy tribute. 2 Kings xxn'u 33. Jeboiakim fucceeded, a wicked prince
like his predeceflors. In his third year, Nebuchadnezzar took Jcrufalem,
and carried away part of the veflels of the houfe of God, and many of
the people into captivity. Particularly, he gave order to Afhpeyiaz the
majler of his eunuchs, that he fhould make choice out of the cnildren of
the roval family, and of the nobility of the land, fuch as he found to be
of the faired countenance, and the quickeft parts, to be carried to Ba-
bylon, and there made eunuchs in his palace, Daniel i. I — 4. whereby
was fulfilled Ifaiah's prediction above an hundred years before. Ifaiah
xxxix. 7. Among thefe youths were Daniel, Hananiah, Mijhael, and
Azariah. Dan. i. 6, 7. Moreover the king was made a tributary, and
the whole land reduced into vaflalage under the Babylonians. A fevere
vifitation, but had not the proper efte£f. upon Jehoiachin, the next king,
who was as corrupt as his father. 2 Kings xxiv. 8, 9. He had been but
three months on the throne, when Nebuchadnezzar again befieged and
took ferujalem, with the king and all the royal family ; all the moft va-
luable things in the temple, and in the king's treasures, with all the
mighty men of valour", all the craftfmen and fmiths, he took away, lea-
ving none in the land but the pooreft fort. 2 Kings xxiv. 12, 13, 14.
Among the reft, Ezekiel (chap. i. 1,2.) and Mordecai (Efth. ii. 5, 6.)
were now carried captives. Yet ftill there was no amendment of the
religion or morals of the nation. Zedekiah, the next and laft king, was
as bad as his predeceflors. 2 Kin. xxiv. 18, 19. And in about eleven
years, Nebuchadnezzar, after a long and clofe fiege, took ferufalem, brake
down its walls, burnt the city and temple, carried away all the facred
utenfils, and all the people, except a few of the very pooreft to till the
ground, and reduced the whole land of Judea, in a manner, to utter de-
flation for the fins thereof.
The propriety of this difpenfation will appear, if we reflect,
I. That the lenity of God appeared in bringing this terrible overthrow
upon them fo gradually, after a fucceflion of judgments from lefs to
greater, for the (pace of twenty-two years ; which (hould have been a
warning to them, and by experience have convinced them, that the
threatenings denounced by the Prophets would certainly be executed.
II. That it was a juft punifhment of their fins ; particularly of their
idolatry, whereby they forfook God, and therefore God juftly forfook
them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, as Alofes had
foretold. Lev. xxvi. 30 36.
III. This dreadful calamity was the moft effectual means to work
their reformation, which was the end propofed by the Divine Wifdom.
Now, in their captive, difconfolateftate, they had time, and their cala-
mities had a natural tendency to give them a difpofition, to reflect upon
the long feries of iniquity and perverfenefs which had brought them un-
der the heavieft of God's judgments. Now their own wickednefs corrected
them, and their backjlidings reproved them ; now they muft know and fee,
that it was an evil thing and bitter, that they hadforfaken the Lord their God,
end that his fear had not been in them* Ifaiah ii. 19. In the land of their
Captivity the fermons of the Prophets, declaiming with the higheft au-
thority againft their profane and vicious practices, would be ftill founding
in their ears, and their abject, wretched condition, the confequence of
I a. iuch
136 Of the Babyknijh Captivity. Ch. XXXII.
fuch practices, would fink them deep into their hearts, and furely give
them an utter deteftation of what they very well knew was the caufe of
all their grievous fufferings.
They had fuftered themfelves to be fhamefully infatuated by their falfe
prophets, who had prophefied to them in Baal, as the moft infallible oracle.
Jer. ii. 8. They were prophets cf the deceit of their hearts, xxiii. 26.
They had encouraged a rabble of diviners, dreamers, enchanters, and forcer-
ers, who had molt impudently impofed upon their credulity, alluring
them, in the name of the Lord too, that they fhould not ferve the king of
Babylon, Jer. xxvii. 9. xxviii. 4. xxix. 8, 9 ; that he fhould not come
againft them, nor againft the land, xxxvii. 19. They belied the Lord,
and /aid, it is not He9 neither JJjall evil come upon us ; neither Jhall we fee
/word nor famine, Jer. v. 12. but I will give you affured peace in this place.
xiv. 13. Thus they caufed the people to err ; and their kings, princes,
and priefts, concurred to ftrengthen the delufion. Jer. ii. 26. v. 31.
xxxii. 32. By the way, thefe prophets and priefts were men of very
wicked lives. Zeph. iii.4. Jer. xxiii. 11. They committed adultery, walked
in lies, Jlrengthened the hands of evil doers, and prevented their returning
fiom wickedne/s, Jer. xxiii. 14 ; they perfecuted and murdered the juft,
in the midft of fcru/alcm. Lam. iv. 13. From them profanene/s zuent
fcrti.) into all tie land, Jer. xxiii. 15. which by their means was become
full of adulterers, and ynourned i eca./e cf /wearing, verfe 10. See a more
particular defcription of the wickednefs of the land, Ezek. xxii. 6 — 13.
But now, where were all their falfe prophets, with all their bold pre-
tenfions, and flattering promifes ? The delufion is now quite at an end,
and they find themfelves moft miferably deceived. Their eyes are opened,
and they are thoroughly convinced they were a fet cf the vileftim-
poftors, who had deluded them into the moft wretched circumftances.
The prophets were now become wind, Jer. v. 13. an ever lafling reproach, a
perpetual Jbame, which could not be J'orgotten, xxiii. 40. And in propor-
tion as thefe deceivers were dctefted, the true Prophets, who would have
drawn them to juft regards of God and his holy law, would be dleemed
and honoured.
Doubtlefs the lying prophets and priefts had filled their heads with fpe-
cious pretences for their idolatrous practices ; and allured them, they
were ftiil the beloved people of God, inverted i-n all the diftinguifhing
privileges of his church and peculiar people, and fecure under his pro-
tection ; with great oftentation and confidence crying out, The temple of
the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are the/e [men or
buildings] Jer. vii. 4. But now they found all their fophiftry to be ly-
ing words, and could no longer take afturance from their peculiar privi-
leges, or their magnificent temple, when their temple and city were both
deftroyed, and themfelves caft out into an heathen land, where they were
fo long, and fo fhamefully ftripped of all their peculiar honours. In fhort,
no method could have been devifed more proper to give this people a
fixed deteftation of idolatry, and the vile arts by which they were (edu-
ced into it. And it had this efrecf. They never more fell into idola-
try, but retain the greateft abhorrence of it unto this day.
IV. The law of God, written by Mofcs, as the rule of their conduct in
^11 affair* civil and religious, and the ground of their happinefs, they had
fo
Ch. XXXII. Of the Babylomjh Captivity. 1 37
fo far neglected, that once it was almoft unknown and loft among them.
2 Kings xxii. 8 — 12. This contempt of the divine law, the Prophets
had frequently and ftrongly protefted againft, (7/u/. v. 24. xxx. 9. Jer.
vi. 19. viii. 8. ix. 13. Hof. viii. 12. stmos ii. 4. and in other places)
and puhiicly declared that ic would be their ruin. And in their ruined
ftate, this muft be remembered, as the primary reafon of ali their fuffer-
ings ; and they muft be thoroughly fenfible, that a due regard to the
law of God, was the only way to recover his favour, and their own pro-
fperity ; and accordingly muft be difpofed to be attentive to it. For
Ezra, after the captivity, found fo little difficulty in introducing the pub-
lic reading of the law, that tha people themfelves called for it. Neb.
viii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 18. xiii. 1. Ezra was a ready writer of the law of God,
Ezra vii. 6, 10, 11, 12, and active in propagating the knowledge of it.
Doubtlefs he wrote, or directed to be written, feveral copies of the law,
to be difperfed into proper hands. And whereas before the Captivity
they had no fynagogues for public worfhip or inftru£tion, nor any places
to refort to for either, unlefs the temple ztjerufalem, or the cities of the
Levltes, or to the Prophets, when God was pleafed to fend them ; thus
ignorance grew among the people ; but after the Captivity fynagogues
were erecied among them in every city, where the law was read every
fabbath, and other acts of devotion performed. This was the moft ef-
fectual method of preferving the knowledge of God and his law, and a
feme of their dutv. This was another good effect of this difpenfation,
and may juftly be given as one good reafon of their being fo ftrongly
fixed againft idolatry, ever after the Babylonljh Captivity.
V. This difpenfation was alfo calculated to produce good effects among
the nations whither they were carried into captivity. For wherever they
were difperfed in the eaitern countries, they would bring with them the
knowledge of the true God, now ferioufly imprelTed upon theirhearts.
But Divine Providence, by fuch fignal circumftances of his interpola-
tion. a<-- were publifhed and known over all the vaft extent of the eaftern
empires, railed f;me of the captive Jews to the higheft pofts of dignity
and power in the courts of AjJ'yria and Perfta. Dan. i. 19, 20. Infomuch
that the molt haughty monarchs openiy confefied the living and true God,
as the only and fupreme God, Dan. ii. 47, 48, 49. iv. 34, &c. and
made decrees, that were pubiifhed throughout their fpacious dominions,
in favour of the profeffion and worfhi') of him, Dan. iii. 29. vi. 25, dfJV.
And the affair of queen Ejlher and Aforaecai, and the decree of the em-
peror A' bafuet us, in favour of all the Jews in his empire, confiftingof 127
provinces, muft, not only give the Jews every where great diftinction
and honour, but alio render the great God more known, and his religion
more rcfpe&able ; infomuch that many of the people of the land, many
of the Pet -fians, became Jew s, or profelytes to the Jewifh religion. Efiher
viii. 11, &c. And the great Cyrus was fo well acquainted with the
ttue God, that, as one of his firft acts, after he was advanced to the
empire oiPerfia, he made a decree for the return of the Jews into their
own country, and for the rebuilding the temple. Ezra\.i — 5. From
all this it is clear, that the Jews, notwithft anding their depravity in their
own country, during the Captivity of 70 years, muft have been a burn-
ing and a fhining light all over the eaftern countries. And thus, in
this
138 Authors within the Period Ch. XXXIII.
this difpenfation alfo, God, the Father and Governor of mankind, was
working for the reformation and improvement of the world, in that
■which is the true excellency of their nature, and the only foundation of
their happinefs.
CHAP. XXXIII.
Authors within the Period from the Building to the Definition of the
Temple.
LITERATURE in this Period received a confiderable advance ; pro-
bably, by means of the fchools of the Prophets.
Solomon was a great author, as he was endowed with an uncommon
(hare of wifdom. For he fpake three thoufand proverbs, and his fongs
were a thoufand and five. And he [pake of trees, from the cedar that is
in Lebanon, even unto the hyfjop that Jpringeth out of the wall ; he fpake alfu
efbeafls, andoffcivl, and of creeping things, frj of pjhes. But of all his
works only three are taken into the Sacred '04 .on, namely, Proverbs^
EccleftafleSy and his Song.
PROVERBS.
This Book confifteth of the moitufeful rules for the right direction
of life in religion and morals, and is the moil authentic and excellent of
the kind that can be produced in antiquity. It may be divided into five
parts. It In the firft part the tutor gives his pupil admonitions, direc-
tions, cautions, and excitements to the ftudy of wifdom. Chap, firft to
the tenth. II. The fecond contains the Proverbs of Solomon, properly
fo called, delivered in diftinct, independent, general fentences. Chap. 10th
tothe 2id, vcr. 17. III. The third part begins at chap. xxii. 17. where
the tutor again addreiTeth himfelf to his pupil, and gives him frefh admo-
nitions to The diligent ftudy of wifdom j which is followed by a fet of
rnftructions delivered in the imperative mood to the pupil, who is fup-
pofed all the while to be ftanding before him. Chap. xxii. 17. to chap.
xxv. IV. The fourth part is diftinguifhed by its being a collection of
Solomon's Proverbs, felected, we may fuppofe, out of a much greater num-
ber, by the men of Hezekiah ; perhaps, by the Prophets Ijaiah, Hofea,
Micah, who all flourifhed'in the days of Hezekiah, and not improbably
aflifted him in his pious endeavours to reftore true religion. 2 Chron.
xxxi. 20, 21. This part, as the fecond, confifts chiefly of diftinfr, un-
connected fentences, and reacheth from chap. xxv. to chap. xxx. V. The
fifth part contains a fet of wife obfervations and inftructions, which
Agury
Ch. XXXIII. from the Building, &c. 139
Agur, the fon of Jakeh, delivered to his pupils, Ithiel and Veal, chap,
xxx. And the xxkift chapter contains the precepts, which his mother,
poffibly a Jewi/h woman married to fome neighbouring prince, delivered
to Lemuel, her fon ; being pailionately folicitous to guard him againft
vice, to eftablifh him in the principles of juftice, and to have him mar-
ried to a wife of the beft qualities. Thefe two chapters are a kind of
appendix to the Boole of Proverbs. Note It is uncertain who Agur
and the mother of Lemuel were.
ECCLE SI ASTES.
This Book was written by the Preacher, the fon of David, ling of Je-
rufaiem, chap, i, 1 ; that is to fay, by Solomon, (probably in the latter
part of his life) as appears from chap. i. 16. ii. 4, iSc, The fubjeft of
it'is, an inquiry into the chief good or happinefsof man, in this world.
And,
I. He confutes the falfe opinion of thofe that place happinefs in hu-
man wifdom, or philofophy j in the plsafures, amufements, or fplendor
pf life; in honour, magiftracy, and dominion ; in riches or wealth. This,
in the fix firft chapters. II. He teaches, that true felicity is to be found
orly in a ferious regard to God and religion, in the fix laft chapters. In
both parts he intermixes feveral incidental reflections, which are of ufe
to make us wife and pious. The whole is adapted to draw us from the
inordinate purfuit of earthly things, and from a wrong to a lawful ufe
of them, without any offence to God, or damage to ourfelves, till we
arrive at a never-dying felicity.
The SONG of SOLOMON.
The Song of Songs, or the moil excellent Song, was compofed by Solo-
mon ; and is a noble epithclamium, or marriage fong, of the paftoral
kind, embellifhed with the molt grand and beautiful images. In the let-
ter it is allowed to be a celebration of the marriage of Solomon to Pha-
raoh's, daughter ; but the Jewi/h rabbies, and many of theChriftian fa-?
thers, have underftood it as a fpiritual allegory, reprefenting the love of
God, 01, as Ciiriftiansfay, of Chrift, to his church ; which, inother parts
of Scripture, is reprefented as his fpoufe, Pjalm xlv. 10, C5V. Hearken, O
Daughter, and confuler, &c. Ver. 13. The king s daughter is all glorious.
within, &c. Which Pfalm David is fuppofed to have made upon the
fame occaiion, namely, at Solomons marriage ; wherein, as the bride-
groom is juftly fuppofed to be Chrift, ver. 3 8. fo his bride may
well be fuppofed to be the church. John Baptift compares Chrift to a
bridegroom, John iii. 28, 29 ; and fo dotrT our Lord himfelf, Mat. ix.
15. xxv. 1. and the kingdom of heaven he compares to a fumptuous
marriage feaft, Mat* xxii. 2. So alfo Rev. xix. 7. xxi. 2. the mar-
riage of the Lamb to his bride, or wife, clothed in fine linen, (which
doubtlefs reprefents the Chriftian church in a ftate of purity) is fpoken
cf. AndSt.iW, in ftrong terms, (\iz\\*\$ Adam ufed when he wasmar^
ried
14© Prophets before the Captivity. Ch. XXXIV.
Tied to Eve, reprefents Chrift as a hufband te the church. Ephef.v. 25,
&c. And fo alfo, 2 Cor. xi. 2. / have efpoufed you to one hujband, that I
may prefev.t you as a chajte virgin to Chrift, And frequently in the Pro-
phets God is fet forth as the hufband or bridegroom to the church. Jfai.
Jiv. 5. Ixi. 10. Ixii. 4, 5. Jer. iii. 20. xxxi. 32. Hof. ii. 2, 7, 16, 19.
Hence, apofbey from God rs very commonly represented as whoredom
and adultery, both in the Old and New Teftament.
All this is very juff, and fupplieth very inflruclive and comfortable
meditation. And it is certainly the bell: ufe we can make of this ele-
gant Song to apply it thus to fpiritual purpofes. But the ideas, which
the Scripture gives us of God's or Chrift' s relation to the church, as a
hufband, are too general, to ferve as a key to the great variety of parti-
culars in this poem j which therefore, as it is never quoted in any other
part of the Scripture, can be reduced to no certain rule of interpretation,
but muft be left to every perfon's fancy or imagination. Bp. Patrick
has done, perhaps, as much as can be done upon the fpiritualizing
fchemc.
Within this Period were alfo written the Prophecies of Joel, Amos,
Hofea, Jonah, Ifaiah, Micah, Nahum, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Obadiah. Thefe before the Captivity. During the 70 years Captivity,
Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Ejlher. After the Captivity, Ezra, Nehe-
miah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, I. and \i. Chronicles. Thefe com-
plete the Canon of the Old Teftament. And whereas it is of great ufe
to the right underftanding of the Prophets, to know the reigns and times
in which they prophefied, and the particular occafions upon which any
of them delivered their prophecies, I fhall now attempt to digeft and
range them in chronological order, as follows.
CHAP. XXXIV.
PROPHETS before the CAPTIVITY.
ABOUT twenty-fix years after the death of EHJha, the Prophet,
(2 Kings xiii. 20.) Jonah the fon of Amittai, the Prophet, which
was of Gath-heper, was fent by God with a melTage of encouragement
and fuccefs to Jeroboam II. king of Ifrael. 2 Kings xiv. 25. This
might happen when Jonah was about 28 years of age.
JOEL i, ii. iii.
Joel at Jerufalem (Joelii. t, 15, 17.) might prophefy betoreAmos at
Samaria, Amos i. 1. iv. I. For Amos, chap.iv. 7, 9. may refer to the
devaluation
Ch. XXXIV. Prophets before the Captivity. 141
devastation by palmer -worms , &c. and drought, which Joel predicted,
chap. i. 6,7, 19, 20, However, as the fenfe of this prophefy, in no part,
that I know of, depends upon the time when it was delivered, there can
be no harm in fuppofing that Joel prophefied about this time.
AMOS i. — ix.
Some time after Joel, Amos might begin to prophefy in the kingdom
of Ifrael. Certainly de did prophefy in thofe days of Uzziah or Azar'uh
king of Judah, and of Jeroboam II. king of Ifrael, in which they were
cotemporaries, chap. i. 1. How long he continued, is not intimated. He
had no regular education in the fchools of the Prophets, (which fuppofeth
that other Prophets had) but was originally a herdfman, and a gatherer
of fycamore fruit, or wild figs, chap. vii. 14. He had an exprefs commif-
fion from God to prophefy unto his people Ifrael, ver. 15. This book
may confift of feveral diftindt difcourfes ; but, as they are without date,
we cannot affign the particular times when they were delivered.
HO SEA i. ii. iih
Hose a is juftly fuppofed to be cotemporary with Amos. He prophe-
fied againftthe ten tribes, or the kingdom of Ifrael, beginning in the reign
of Jeroboam II. and prophefying in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz9
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. He predicted the Captivity of the ten
tribes; and as that Captivity happened in the fixth year of Hezekiah,
probably he lived to fee it accomplifhed by Shalmanefer king of Affyria ;
which was done about 64 years after the commencement of his prophetic
office.
This Prophet is commanded to take unto him a wife of whored ms, and
children of whoredoms, chap. i. 2. This might all be tranfacled in a vi-
fion, in the council of God. See the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh
chapters of Ezekiel. Or it might be a parable, to be fpolcen as fuch to
the children of Ifrael. See Ezek. xxiv. 3, &c. Here that is ordered to
be done as a fact, which was only to be fpoken as a parable. But if the
Prophet did really marry a lewd woman, who had children, nor by him,
but by fame other man, this was no fin in him, who did it by Divine
Command, in order to explain to the Ifraelites their wickednefs, and the
punifhment of it. The adulterous wife reprefented the Ifraelites, who
by their idolatries had gone a whoring from God, their own Hufband.
The children which this woman bare, are the ruinous effects of the
idolatry of the children of Ifrael. The firft baftard was called Jczreel; and
denoted the vengeance which God would take upon the houfe of Jehu9
/or the blood which he fhed in J,zreel, chap. i. 4. The fecond was
called Lo-ruhamah, ver. 6. to denote that God would no longer fpare the
houfe of Ifrael, but take them quite away out of their land. The name
o^fhe third was Lo-ammi, ver. 9. which fignified that the relation be-
tween God and the Ifiaelites was diiTolved*
3 HOSEA iv
!42 Prophet: before the Captivity. Ch. XXXIVi
HOSEA iv.
The interregnum in Ifrael, preceding the reign of Zechariab, was
doubtlefs a time of very great diforder and violence, and of much bloody
ftrife for the crown. Probably, Zechariah gained it by cutting off com-
petitors. Shallum flew him, Menahem flew Shallum, and all within the
fpace of feven months. To this fad ftate of things Hofea may well be
fuppofed to refer, chap. iv. 2. By /wearing and lying, and 'killing and Jlealing,
and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth [reacheth untoj
blood. Here, therefore, we may place the fourth chapter of Hofea.
JONAH i, ii, iii, iv.
Jonah, I fuppofe, about the fecond year of Menahem, king of Ifrael,
and about the 70th year of his age, was fen* to cry zgainftNineveh, about
700 miles from Gath-heper, then a great, wealthy, populous and haughty
city, the chief feat of the Affyian empire, aud the miftrefs of the world j
which had long been remarkable for luxury and jollity to a proverb,
xgEto-wv N(»a tv<pcxivu<ry<;, better than merry Nineveh. By Zephaniah it is
called, the rejoicing, or joyous, city, chap. ii. 15. To be fent with a
meffage of divine wrath to fuch a place as this, couid not but feem a fright-
ful and dangerous errand to "Jonah. He faw hov much the Ifraelites,
God's own people, hated and eriecuted the Prophets, who reproved and
threatened them. What then could he expect from that great and wicked
city, Nineveh, the head- quarters of pride and fin ? Further, he knew
the Prophets very much hazarded their reputation in the world, when
employed in denouncing judgments ; becaufeGod, being gracious, was
flow in executing them. On this account, the Prophets at Bethel and
Jerufalem were vilely abufed and decried by iniblent and rude infidels,
who durft even profefs to defire, or long for, the day of the Lord, (Amos
v. 18.) in a confident perfuafion that it would never come ; and dared
to challenge God to haften his work. Ifai. v. 19. See alfo Jer. xvii.
.15. Ezekiel xii. 22. And if this fhould be' Jonah's cafe at Nineveh, what
could he expect but to be torn in pieces for an impoftor ? How mult
he, and the religion he profeffed, be expofed to public contempt and
fcorn ! This was what he particularly dieaded, chap. iv. 2. He was
therefore refolved to fee from the prefence of [from before] Jehovah ; that
is, I fuppofe, to run away from the Council of God in the land of Ifrael,
to lome remote country beyond fea*, where, he thought, it was never
held. But he was flopped by a miracle, and at length obliged to deliver
the doleful meffage, Yet forty days and impenitent Nineveh fhall be over-
thrown. Convinced of his miraculous miffton, § the king proclaimed a
faff,
* TSote—TarfhiJh may fignify any remote country beyond fea, as the Indies
j,ow with us. See Root 1827. in the Eng. Heb. Concordance.
§ Luke xi. 30.
Ch, XXXIV. Prophets before the Captivity : 143
faft, and enjoined all the ufual forms of repentance; And God repented
of the evil which he had f aid he would do unto them.
It is very probable, that the idolatrous priefts, and the aftrologers,
foothfavers, and magicians, who muft be numerous at Nineveh, as well
as at Babylon, {Ifai. xlvii. 13. Dan. ii. 2.) would zealoufly endeavour
to divert the king, when the fift fright was over, from attending to a
meflage from Jehovah, as foon as ever they poffibly could, before the
forty days were expired. They would naturally reprefent Jonah to the
king and all the people, as an impoftor; and bear them in hand that the
prediction was falfe, and would not be fulfilled. This muft give the
Prophet, who was zealous for the glory of the God of Ifrael, very great
uneafinefs ; infomuch that he wifhed for death, chap. iv. 2, 3; as Eli'
jah, in a cafe fomewhat fimilar, had done before him, I Kings xix. 4.
The queftion of Jehovah, Jon. iv. 4. which we render, Dojl thou well
to be angry,? fhould have been rendered, Art thou very much grieved?
And fo ver. 9. See Hob. Eng. Concordance. R. 748, 637.
Pul, the king of Affria, who came againft the land of Ifrael in the
reign of Menahem, 2 Kings xv. 19. is fuppofed by Archbifhop Usher.
to be the king of Nineveh, to whom Jonah was fent. As it appears
from the hiftory, that Pul had no defign to make conqueft of the land of
Ifrael, I can affign no reafon why he fhould reach his arm over the
kingdom of Syria, which lay to the extent of about three hundred miles,
between his dominions, and the land of Canaan, to ftrike at Ifrael, but
that he did it in revenge for the fuppofed infult which Jonah had.
offered to him and his people.
ISAIAH vi. ii. ili. iv. v.
Isaiah, the brighter! luminary of the Jewifh church, juftly called
the evangelical Prophet, he fpeaks fo much and fo clearly of Chrijly
began to prophefy in the year king Uzziah died, chap. vi. 1. and prophe-
fied in Judah in the fuccefiive reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezikiah.
He was certainly alive and propheiied when Merodachbaladen fent his
embalfy to Hezekiah, who had been fick, in the 14th year of Hezekiah^
and before Ch rift 714. Thus we certainly know that he prophefied.
46 years. There is an ancient and probable tradition among Xhtjews, that
he fuffered martyrdom under Manaffeh, in the firft year of his reign,
before Chrift 698, by being cruelly fawn afunder ; to which the Apoftle,
Heb. xi. 37. is generally thought to have refpedt. And then he muft
have continued 61 years. See Pierce upon Heb. xi. 37.
The firft chapter, by reafon of the grand exordium, might be judged
proper toftand at the front of the book ; but it gives fuch an account of
the diftrefTed, defolate condition of the land of Judah, as agrees much
better with the wicked and afflicted reign of the apoftate Ahaz, than
with the flourifhing circumftances of the country in the reigns of Uz'
%ic.h, and of his (on and fucceflbr Jotham, who were both, in the main,
good princes. Compare Ifai. i. 7, 8, 9. with 2 Cbron. xxvi. 1 16.
and the whole 27th chapter. But the fecond, third, fourth, and fifth,
chapters of this prophecy, dodefcribe, and exactly correspond to; aftate
of
144 Prophets before the Captivity. Ch. XXXIV.
of national wealth and profperity, which are ufually attended with pride,
arrogance, and luxury. Set chap. ii. 6 — 18. iii. 16 — 25. v. 8, 11,12.
Therefore, I take this to be the order of thofe chapters. In the fixth
chapter, and in the year before Chrift 759, the Prophet, in the council
of God, received his commiffion ; and foon after delivered the contents
of the fecond, third, fourth, and fifth chapters. And thefe chapters
contain all that remains of his prophecies in the reigns of Uzziab and
Jotbam, for about the fpace of 16 years, tii] the firft year of king Aha%.
M I C A H i, ii.
These two chapters were delivered before thedeftruc'tion of Samaria,
which is here predicted, chap. i. 6. in the reign of Jotbam, chap. i. 1.
and therefore may be rightly placed about this time.
ISAIAH vii.
In the firft year of Ahaz king of Judab, Rezin king of Syria, and Pehah
king of Ifrael, formed a defign of dethroning Ahaz, and of extirpating
the family of David, by fetting up the ion of Tabeal, fome potent, fac-
tious Jew, to be king of Judab ; and therefore, having no defign upon
the nation, but only upon the royal family, marched directly to Jerufaletn,
and laid clofe liege to it. But as it was the will of God, not to extir-
pate the family of David, but only to punifh wicked Ahaz, he fent
Jfaiah to encourage him to make a vigorous defence, and to allure him
they fhould not prevail againft him, and that the houfe of David mould
fubfift till the MeJJiab was born. Then was the prophecy delivered to
Ahaz contained in the feventh chapter of Jfaiah *„
ISAIAH viii, Ix, x. to the fifth Verfe.
Ahaz, a wicked idolator, paid little regard to what Ifaiab had fpoken
to him in the name of the Lord. Therefore God ordered Ifaiab to take
a lame
* Is a 1 . vii. 8. Within 65 years Eph, aimjball be broken, that it be not a pea-
pie. This was predifted in the firft year of Ahaz. Ahaz reigned 16 years ;
and in the fixth year of his fucceflbr, Hezekiak, Skalmaneftr took Samaria, and
carried aivay Ifrael [fiphraim] unto Af'yria. This makes but 16 and 5, or
21 years. How then lhall we make out 65 years? This has very much puz-
zled the critics. Butobferve, probably Ifrael, or Ephraim, was carried into
captivity by the Affyrians three times. I. By I'iglaih-Ptlefer, 1 Chron. v.
26. 2 Kings xv. 29. II. By his fon Shalmanefer, 2 Kings xvii. 6. xviii. 10,
IX. Thus Ephraim was no more a kingdom. III. Probably by Efarhaddon,
who finally carried away all the remains of the people ; which is implied in
his bringing new inhabitants from Babylon, Cuthah, Sec. 2 Kings xvii. 24.
Ezra iv. 2. Thus Ephraim was no more a people. This happened in the
2 2d year of Manaffeh, 65 years from the firft of Ahaz. See Dr. Prideaux's
Lon. ad an, 677.
Ch. XXIV. Prophets before the Captivity. 147
a large roll of parchment, and therein, with the pen of a man, i. e. in rh^
common and moft legible way of writing, to put down and publifh, what
God fhould further difcover about the prefent deliverance and future ca-
lamities of Judah. The roll was to be a comment upon the name of a
fon which was then born to the Prophet, and by Divine Protection was
called Maher-jha-lal-hajh-haz, i.e. make fpeed to the j'poil, and haftento
the prey ; denoting the fpeedy deftruevtion of the two confederate Icings
of Sumaria and Damafcus. This roll, I fuppofe, takes in the eighth and
ninth chapters of Ijaiah, and the five firft verfes of the 10th chapter,
ISAIAH xvii.
This chapter relates to the fame fubjeel:, the deftru&ion of Ifrae! and
Damafcus; and therefore, I judge, it was delivered in the fame year,
after the roll was finifhed. For in about two years after, Tiglatb-pilefer>
king of AJfyria, took Damafcus, and carried the people therein captive
to Kir. 2 Kings xvi. 9.
ISAIAH u
Pekah and Rezin failing in their , attempt upon Jerufalem, (2 Kings
xvi. 5. Ifai. vii. I.) the next year, 741, they returned with forces bet-
ter appointed, and councils better concerted ; and dividing themfelves
into three armies, one under Pekah, another under Rezin, and a third
under Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, they fell upon the country in
three different parts, making every where terrible havock and {laughter,
and carrying away a prodigious number of captives* See 2 Chron. xxviii.
5 — 9. And no fooner was the land freed from thofe enemies, but it
was invaded by the Edomites, on the fouth, and the Philijiines, on the
weft, who treated it with the fame cruelty, flaying, plundering, and
carrying away captives. 1 Chron. xxviii. 17, 18, 19. Thus was Judah
grievouily diftrefied all over the country, and brought exceeding low,
which lately had been high in wealth and power, becaufe they and their
king had forfaken the Lord their God. And upon this cccafion, moft
probably, Ijaiah delivered the prophetic fermon contained in the firft
chapter, as it is very fuitable to the ftate of the nation at that time.
ISAIAH xxviii.
This chapter, relating to the deftru&ion of Ephraim, or the ten
tribes, without any mention of Syria or Damafcus, Iieth between the de-
ftrudtion of Damafcus, 740, and the captivity of the ten tribes, 721.
H O S E A v. vi.
Ahaz, greatly diftreffed by Pekah, Rezin, he. called InTiglath-pHe-
fer, king of JJTyria, to his help, 2 Kings xvi. 7. 2 Chron. xxviii. 16.
Vol, I. K ' And
148 Prophets before the Captivity. Ch. XXXTV\
And Mennhem, king of Ij'rael, about 30 years before that, had hired Pal,
king of AjJ'yria, to confirm the kingdom in his hand, 2 Kings xv. 19.
though they reaped no benefit from them. Thefc are the only times
in which the kings of Judah and Ij'rael applied to the Ajjyrian for af-
fiftance. And whereas Hofea, chap. v. 13. pentions both thofe appli-
cations, the fifth and fixth chapters mull be taken in after Ahaz hud ap-
plied to Tiglath-pilefer.
ISAIAH xiv. 28, &c.
The PhiRjiines triumphed over Ifrael all the days of Ahaz. But in
the year Ahaz died, Ifaiah delivered the burden, or mefTage, relating to
them, chap. xiv. 28, crV. which was fulfilled by Hezekiab^ ton and fuc-
CLffor to Ahaz, 2 Kings xviii. 8.
ISAIAH xv. xvi.
The Mcahiles had not ufed the Ifraelites well, who fled for fb.elr.er from
the ravages of Pdab and Rezln. With this inhumanity they are ironi-
cally upbraided, Jfai. xvi. 3. 4. But now they are told, the opprcilor
and fpoiler were ceafed, and the throne of Hezehiah (houlJ be ejiablijhed
in mercy, and he Jhouldfit upon it in truth, occ. Therefore, this prophecy
againft Moab muft have been delivered about the beginning (perhaps in
the fecond year) of Hezekiah's reign. And Dr. Pride aux fuppofeth
it was accomplifhed by Shalmanefer, three or four years after, when, as
he thinks, Shalmanefer, previouflv to the fiege of Samaria, fubdued the
jidcabitesy to prevent any incurfions, or attacks, from that quarter.
H O S E A vii— xiv.
The prophecies in thefe chapters were delivered (1.) after Ephraim,
or the king of Ifrael, had called to Egypt for fuccour, chap. vii. II. xii.
1. as Menahim had done before to AJfyria. 2 Kings xv. 19. But the
only time they applied to Egypt was, when king Hofiea, revolting from
Shalmanefer, fent meflengers to So king of Egypt. 2 Kings xvii. 4.
Which occafioned Shalmanefer *s befieging of Samaria, and carrying the
ten tribes into captivity. And therefore thefe chapters might be deli-
vered about three years before that event. (2.) Thefe prophecies were
delivered after the firft year of Shalman, or Shalmanefer, who, according
to Dr. Prideaux, began to reign in the year before Chrift 728, or
729. For the Prophet H'ofea refers to the deftrudtion of Beth-arbel by
Sha'mun, chap. x. 14. ^nd they were delivered before the taking of
Samaria, which was in the 8:h year of Shalmanefer, before Chrift 721 j
for the Prophet evidently, in thofe chapters, fuppofeth, that Ephraim,
or the ten tribes, were not yet carried into captivity. Therefore, they
were delivered after the deftru&ion of Beth-arbel, and before the capti-
vity of the ten tribes, about the time above noted.
MICAH
Ch*. XXXIV. Prophets before the Captivity. 149
M I C A H iii, iv, v, vi, vii.
The laft verfe of the third chapter of Micah was uttered in the time
of Hezekiah, Jer. xxvi. 18; and here may both that chapter, and all
that follow it, be placed, as prophefied in fome time of Hezekiab's Erft
13 years, before Sennacherib beiieged Jcrnfalem* For the Prophet Teems
to fpeak of that liege and Sennacherib's blafphemy, chap. v. 1,5. He
fpeaketh glorious things of Cbrift and his kingdom, and nameth the very
town whete he mould be born, chap. v. 2. Jn chapter iv. 1, 2, 3, he
ufeth the very words of Ifaiah, chap. ii. 2, 5, 4, to exprefs the conflux
to the kingdom of Chryi, his power in it, and the peace which, at
length, it lhould give to the world.
N A H U M i, ii, iii.
After Shalmanefer, kingcf Nineveh, had t^ken Samaria, and carried
the ten tribes captive, Nabum might predict the ruin of Nineveh, thea
the capital of the Jflyrian empire.
ISAIAH xxiii.
Shalmaneser, having taken Samaria, turned his arms againft the
city of Tyre, which held out againft him five years, and then was deli-
vered from the fiege by the death of Shalmanefer. By this fuccefs they
were too much elated, and growing very infolent, this occafioned the
prophecy againft them in this chapter; which foretels the miferable
overthrow of Tyre, which was effected by Nebuchadnezzar , king of Ba-
bylon. See Dr. PrideaUx's Con. An. 715, 720.
ISAIAH xxiv, xxv, xxvi, xxv'n.
These chapters may refer to the final defolation of Judea and Jeru-
falem by Nebuchadnezzar ; but I can difcover no marks of the time when
they were delivered. However, with the threatenings he mixes many
gracious promifes and comforts. Sec Dr. Lightfoot.
ISAIAH xxxviii, xxxix.
In this year king Hczekiah fell Tick, and the other affairs happened,
which are recorded in this chapter : for 15 years are added to Hezekiab's
life, chap, xxxviii. 5. and as he reigned in all 29 years, this muff, have
been the 14th year of his reign. And that it happened when the inten-
tions of Sennacherib, king of" JJfyriat to attack Jcrufahm were known,
appears from Ijaab xxxviii. 6.
K 2 ISAIAH
150 Prophets before the Captivity. Ch. XXXIV.
ISAIAH xxix, xxx, xxxi, xxxii, xxxiii, xxxiv, xxxv.
HezekiaH, having refufed to pny the annual tribute to the kino; of
Affyria, towards the end of the 14th year, Sennacherib coming upon him
with a numerous army, he made all manner of preparation for a vigo-
rous defence. 2 Kings xv'm. 13. 2 Chfon. xxxii. lfal. xxxvi. Parti-
cularly, he entered into an all iai;ce with the king of Egypt and Ethiopia.
2 Kingsxviii. 21. Ifal. xxxvi. 6. This was a meafme difpleafmg to
God, and therefore is protefted againft by his Prophet Ifalah in the
xxxih and xxxift chapters. And at the fame time all the other chap-
ters, from the xxixth to the xxxvith chapter, efpecially thofe that have
immediate reference to this invaiion, might have been dictated to the
Prophet by the fpirit of God.
ISAIAH xxii. Verfe 1 to 1,5.
As in this paragraph are manifeft allufions to Sennacherib's invafion
and Hezekiah's preparations for the defence of Jeriifalcm, (compare verfe
q, 10, II. 2 Chron. xxxii. 5, 30.) this prophetic admonition to the
people, who depended too much upon theie preparations, probably was
delivered about this time. See Lowth's Comment, on the place.
ISAIAH xxi.
The inhabitants of Kedar were the defcendants of Ifhmael, Gen. xxv.
13, and were one fpecies of Arabians dwelling in Arabia Petraa. Theje
were to be ruined within a year after this prophecy was given out.
Mod probably they were overthrown either by Sennacherib, as he went
into, or returned out of Egypt; or by Tlrhakah king of Ethiopia, as he
advanced out of Egypt againft Sennacherib. 2 Kings xix. 9. And there-
fore, this prophecy may be placed at this time, or within a year or two
of it.
ISAIAH xx.
Hezekiah, having treated with Sennacherib, and agreed to pay him
a fum of money, 2 Kings xviii. 14, 15, 16, Sennacherib turned his arms
againft Egypt ; which he greatly diftreffed for three years together, Ifai.
xx. 3, 4. But fir)} he f nt Tartan, one of his generals, before him, to
take Afhdod, the key to Egypt. At this time the prophecy againft Egypt,
in the xxth chapter of Tfaiah, was delivered. Note — Sennacherib is, in
ver. 1, called Sargon. Ver. 5. They, the Jews, Jhall be afraid and
qfhamed of Ethiopia their expeilation, and of Egypt their glory.
ISAIAH
Ch. XXXIV. Prophets before the Captivity. 151
ISAIAH xviii, xix.
These two chapters are alfo levelled againfl: Egypt and Ethiopia,
upon which the Jews relied too much ; and therefore might be deli-
vered about the Tame time.
ISAIAH x. ver. 5, &n. xi, xii, xiii, xiv. to ver. 28.
It appears from chap. x. 8 — 12, which is a profopopcela, or fuppofed
fpeech of the king of AJfyria, that this chapter was delivered after the
talcing of Samaria by Salmanefer, 721 ; and ibme time before Sennacherib
befieged Jerufalem, 71O, who was the only king of Afyrla that befieged
Jerufalem after the taking of Samaria. And the fpeech in this place
bearing a near affinity to that of Sennacherib, 2 Kings xix. 10 14.
Ifaiah xxxvii. 10 — 14, it is probable that this, and the other chapters,
to the2Hth verfeof the xivth chapter, were delivered about the time Sen-
nacherib befieged -Jerufalem. Note — In chapter x. 1 1. Shall I not, as I
have done unto Samaria, Sec. Sennacherib fpeaks as king of Affyrla, and fo
takes in what his father Shalmanefer had done, as if done by himfelf.
ISAIAH xxxvi, xxxvii.
Sennacherib returning out of Egypt, where he had been 3 years,
notwithstanding the agreement of peace which he made with Hezeklah,
marched his army again into Judea, laid fiege to Lachtjb, and from
thence fent three of his generals with a proud and blafphemous meflage
to Jerufalem, 2 Kings xviii. 17, 18. 2 Chron. xxxii. 9, Sic. This
event, with the circurnfhnces which attended and followed it, are re-
corded in th. x'xxvith and xxxviith chapters of Ifaiah.
Note— Before Sennacherib laid fiege to Jerufalem, Tlrhakah, king of
Ethiopia, advanced againithim out of Egypt, 2 Kings xix. 9; but, as
the Prophet Ifaiah had predicted, did the Jews no Service; for he was
overthrown by Sennacherib, who after that returned to Jerufalem, where
his army, being 185,000 men, were all miraculoufly deftroyed in one
night. See Dr. Prideaux's Con. at the year 710.
ISAIAH xl, xli, xlii, xliii, &c. to the end of the Boo!:.
As there is no direction to lay thefe chapters, or any of them, in any
particular time, they may all be allotted to the eleven lait years or He-
zekiab's prolonged life.
K3
ISAIAH
1^2 Prophets before the Captivity. Ch. XXXIV.
I S A I A H xxii. Vcr. 15, to the end.
Shebna had been fecretary to king Hezekiah, and the good and pious
Eliakim, the matter of his household, Ifai. xxxvi. 3. 22. Shebna, by the
queftions, chap. xxii. 16, feems to have been a foreigner, and not well
affected to the [ewifh religion. What hajl thou to do here? and whom,
what relations, haji thou here? It is poflible this Shebnay a man of great
ab.hties, might have got the young king AfanaJ/eh, but 12 years old,
and the whole management of affairs, into his own hands; having routed
Eliakim by fuch arts as courtiers are wont to pra&ife. For he was now
both treafurer, and mafterof the houfehold. To this, perhaps, the wicked
conduct of Manaffeh may be affigned. Shebna, fecure of the (lability
and continuance of his power and grandeur, was hewing out a magni-
ficent fepulchre for himfelf and heirs, to perpetuate his memory to ail
fucceeding times. On this occafion, Ifaiah might pubiifh this pro-
phecy, predicting Shebna's captivity and death, in a remote foreign
country, and the future exaltation of good Eliakim, This, which
would greatly exafperate Shebna, and might occafion Ifaiatfs being put
to a cruel death, [fawn afunder, Heb. xi. 37.] was fulfilled about twenty-
two years afte ', when Shebna was taken captive with Manajjeb by
Efarhaddon. and carried to Babylon, where Shebna continued all his life.
But Manajfeh, upon his repentance, was reftored to the throne ofjudab.
And then, probably, good Eliakim was reftored and intruded with the
management of ail his affairs, and aflified him in the great reformation
he made in religion. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 — 17. See Dr. Prideaux's
Con, A n n o 6 7 7 . uManaJJch
JEREMIAH i, ii.
Ik this year Jeremiah, in the council of God, received his prophetic
commifiion, as in the firff chapter. See alfo chap. xxv. 3. And in
this year probably he publifhed the admonitions, warnings, and threat-
enings, in the fecond chapter.
JEREMIAH xi. Verfe 1 18.
The Prophet, ver. 2 9, mofr. probably refers to the covenant
which Jojlab publicly made to keep God's commandm°nts, upon find-
ing the book of the law. 2 Kings xxii. 1 1. xxiii. 3. This was in the
1 8th year of king Jojiah. 2 Kings xxii. 3.
JEREMIAH iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x, xii, &c. to the xxi.
These chapters, for any thing that appears to the contrary, do lie in
regular order ; nor have we any ground or intimation tor tranfpoiing any
of
Ch. XXXIV. Prophets before the Captivity. 153
of them. There is a date, chap. iii. 6. In the days of Jofah, without
mentioning the year of his reign; which, however, ihews, that that
chapter was delivered in fome part of his reign. And whereas a fevere
drought is frequently mentioned in kveral of thefe chapters, (viz. chap.
iii. 3. v. 24,25. viii. 13, 20. ix. 10, 12. xii. 4. xiv. 1, 2, 3,4.) this
fhews, that they are to be laid together in the fame year, or years, in
which the drought continued ; anil all the reft, to the xxift, may follow
in order of time; and all might be delivered in the laft years of king
Jofiah. Dr. LlGHTFOOT.
JEREMIAH xi. Ver. 18, to the end.
In fome part of the fame years the men of Anathoth might confpire
again ft Jeremiah.
HABAKKUK i, ii, iii. ZEPHANIAH i, ii, iii.
As thefe two Prophets prophefied the fame things that Jeremiah did,
and upon the fame occafion, that is, deftruclion and delolation upon
Judah and Jerufa/em, becaufe of the many heinous fins they were guilty
of, they might prophefy about this time.
JEREMIAH xxii. Ver. 1 24.
Jeremiah being fent of God to the king's houfe, there proclaimed
God's judgments againft him and his family, contained in thefe verfes of
this chapter. This was foon aft°r Jehoahaz, or Shallum, was carried
csptive into Egypt, by Pharaoh-nccho, king of Egypt, who flew Jofah,
ver. 10, 11. I Veep not for the dead, Jofiah, but weep fore for him that
geeth avony, J ehoahaz ; for he fhall return no more. Note Jehoahaz
JERE M I A H xxvi.
After that, the Prophet was ordered to go to the temple, and to
denounce to all the people the juJgments of God, if they did not re-
pent. By this he was brought in danger of his life, through the re-
fentment of the Priefts and Prophets, ver. 7, 8; but was preferved by
the princes, ver. 16.
JEREMIAH xxv.
In this chapter, and in the beginning of this year, Jeremiah prophe-
fied of the coming of Nebuchadnezzar againft Judah and Jerufakm.
K 4 JEREMIAH
154 Prophets before the Captivity. Ch. XXXIV,
JEREMIAH xxxv.
The Rcchabiies, upon Nebuchadnezzar's beginning to invade the land
of Judea, retired out of the country to Jcrufalem, where Jeremiah found
them, in this chapter.
JEREMIAH xlvi.
I nt the fame year, after Nebuchadnezzar had defeated the army of Pha-
raoh-necho, this prophecy relating to the Gentiles was delivered.
JEREMIAH xxxvi. Ver. i 9.
In the fame year God commanded Jeremiah to collect, and write in a
roll, all the w» rus of prophecy which had been fpoken by him a
Ifraelawb Jiulah^ and again$ the nation . W ;:h he executed by the
nee of BaruCh, his amanuenf.s; who, as Jfremiah was then t
inerrlerft, ver. 5. r oil in the temple mpon the tailing-day,
i. c. the great day of atonement,' being the 10th of the feventh month.
JEREMIAH xlv,
Baruch being very much affrighted at the threats contained in the
roll, and probably untaiy under apprehenfions of the danger he might
incur by reading it publicly, Jeremiah, by the command of Ged, deli-
vered to him the meflage of encouragement and comfoit contained in
this chapter.
DANIEL i.
Immediately after this, Nebuchadnezzar, who fet out upon his ex-
pedition the year before, laid fiegeto Jcruja/em, and took it ; and bound
Jehoiakim in fetters, with a defign to carry him to Babylon. 2 Chron.
xxxvi. 6. ijut upon Jeboiakim's fubmiffion, 2 Kings xx'iv. 1, he did
not carry him to Babylon, but reftored him to the kingdom. Neverthe-
lefs, he carried great numbers of the people, and fons of the royal fa-
mily, and of the nobility, captives, among the reft Daniel.
JEREMIAH xxxvi. Verfe 9, to the end of the Chapter.
This year, after the Chaldeans were gone from Jerufalcm, Jehoiakim
and his people growing worfe and worfe, in the ninth month, at the taft,
which was then proclaimed, on account of Nebuchadnezzar's having
taken
Ch. XXXIV, Prophet! before the Captivity,, 155
taken the citv the year before, Baruch again read the roll in the houfe of
the Loid, ver. 9, 80. Which coming to the king's ear, and part of the
roll being read to him, he, thinking perhaps that Nebuchadnezzar had
already executed the Divine threatcnings, and nothing more was now to
be feared, and tli.it the Prophet was a malicious, troublefome fellow,
burnt the roll, and commanded Jeremiah and Baruch to be apprehended.
But they could not be found, for the Lord hid them. Note Jere-
miah was now at liberty.
DANIEL ii.
In this year, which was the fecond of Nebuchadnezzar , according to
tlve Babylonijh account, the 4th according to the Jewijh, Daniel revealed
to Nebuchadnezzar his dream.
JEREMIAH xxii. Ver. 24, to the end.
In this year this prophecy was declared againft Jehoiacbin, or Coniah*
who reigned but 3 months, and then, with many others, was carried
into captivity.. 2 Kings xxiv. 11, &c. His uncle Zedekiah fucceeded
him. 2 Kipgs xxiv. 17.
JEREMIAH xxiii.
This chapter might be delivered at the fame time with the foregoing
prophecy.
JEREMIAH xiii. Ver. 15, to the end.
By the king and queen mentioned ver. 18, are probably meant Je-
hoiachin and his mother. See chap. xxii. 26. 2 Kings xxiv. 12. Thus,
this prophecy muft have been delivered about the fame time with the
foregoing.'
JEREMIAH xxiv.
After. Jehoiachin or Jeconiab was carried into captivity by Nebuchad-
nczzar, this prophecy was delivered.
JEREMIAH xlix. Verk 34, to the end.
In this year alfo is to be placed the prophecy againft Elam, a kingdom
upon the river Uiai, eaftward beyond the Tigris, in which flood Sbujban>
afterward the metropolis of the kingdom of Perfia*
JEREMIAH
Prophets before tie Captivity. Ch. XXXIV.
JEREMIAH xxix.
About the fecond year of Zedekiah's reign, Jeremiah's letter, con-
tained in this chapter, was fent to the captive Jews at Babylon ; and an
impious anfwer returned by Sbemaiah.
JEREMIAH xxx, xxxi.
These two chapters, which, affure the captive Jews that they mould
not only return again to Jl/tieti'. but alfo be the particular care of the
Divine Providence to the end of the world,, to fhew the certainty of the
encouraging concents, are ordered to be written in a book, chap. xxx.
2, about the fame time with the foregoing letter, and probably were
fent to the captive Jews in Babylon, whom they principally refpedted.
JEREMIAH xxvii.
This chapter is to be placed in this year, (fee chap, xxviii. i.) namely,
after the departure of Nebuchadnezzar out of Judea and Syria, when
the kings of the Ammonites, Aioabites, Edomites, Zidonians, Tyrians, &c.
fent an embatTy to Zedekiah, propofing to him a league againftthe king
of Babylon, Note — In the fir ft verfe, Jcboiakitn is put for Zedekiah, [fee
vcr. 3. J probably by a miftake of the tranferiber, who might then have
his eye upon the firft verie of the foregoing chapter.
JEREMIAH xxviii.
I» this year the affair concerning Hananiah the falfe Prophet, related
in this chapter, was tranfacted. Note-— The firft verfe, according to the
beft commentators, mould be read thus, When it had been fo, [i. e. when
1 had continued prophefying with a yoke upon my moulders from that
year, which was] in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, until the fourth
year, he. See Glafs. Phihfacra Lib. IV- Tr<t&< [. Obferv. V. Pag. 860,
Nold. Concord. Nota 677, and Lowth upon the place.
JEREMIAH 1, li.
These two chapters contain a book of prophecies which Jeremiah
wrote, and fent to Babylon, by Seraiah, who was fent thither by Zedekiah,
in the 4th year of his reign, chap. li. 59, &c. [when he went with, rather,
from Zedekiah &c] See Nold. Concord, under rmornx No. 1.
EZEKIEL
Cm. XXXIV. Prophets hfore the Captivity. 157
EZEKIEL i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii.
In the 5th year of Jehoiachin's captivity, which was alfo the 5th of
Zedekiah's. reign, Ezekiel, a captive prieft in Chaldea, received his pro-
phetic comn.iiiion in the council of God, and had the revelations and
prophecies contained in the feven lirft chapters of his book. Note
Ezckiel dates his prophecies from the year in which himfelf and kmgje-
hoiachin were carried into captivity.
EZEKIEL viii, ix, x, xi.
This year Ezckiel in a vifion was carried to Jerufalem, fhewn the fe-
veral forts of idolatry pra£cifed there by the Jews in the very temple;
and had revealed unto him the punifhments which God would inflict
upon them for thofe abominations, and the divine protection of thofe in
captivity, who continued fteady and faithful to his fervice.
EZEKIEL xii, xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix.
About this time, Zedekiah having entered into a confederacy with
the king of Egypt, and broken the folemn oath of fidelity which he had
fworn to king Nebuchadnezzar, God, both by types and words of reve-
lation, forefhewed to Ezekiel the taking of Jerufalem by the Chaldeans,
Zedekiah's flight by night, the putting out of his eves, his imprifonment
and death at Babylon, the carrying away of the Jews, and the remains
of the IfracUtes, contained in the above-mentioned chapters. Note— •
Daniel, though then but a young man, was grown to fuch a pitch of
piecy and holinefs, as to be matched, by God himfelf, with Noah and Job.
Ezek. xiv. 14, 20.
EZEKIEL xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii.
The elders of Ifrael came to Ezekiel to enquire of the Lord; but
God refufeth to be enquired of by fuch wicked hypocrites ; and in thefe
four chapters denounces the judgments their abominable impieties de-
fer ved.
JEREMIAH xxi, xxxiv. Ver. 1-8.
Nebuchadnezzar having advanced a great army againft Jttdca,
2 Kin. xxv, 1. to punifh Zedekiah for his perjury and rebellion, Zedekiah
firlt fent Pajhur and Zephaniah to Jeremiah, to defire him to enquire of
the Lord 3 by whom Jeremiah returned the anfwer related in the 21ft
chapter.
I58 Prophets before the Captivity. Ch. XXXIV.
chapter. Afterward, 'Jeremiah was ordered in perfon to deliver to Zcdc-
kiah the prediction contained in chap. xxiv. 1 — 8.
JEREMIAH xlvii.
Pharaoh Hophra marching out of Egypt to the relief of his ally
Zedekiab Rgamft Nebuchadnezzar, who was advancing to befiege Jerufa-
Um, in his way took Gaza, a town of the Philiftints. A little before
this event, Jeremiah uttered this prophecy againft the PhiUJlincs.
JEREMIAH xlviii, xlix. Ver. 1 34.
These prophecies, relating to the AToalites, Ammonites, Edcmites, &c.
who would be 61 n ravages of the Ajfyrian aimic-s, might be
delivered at the fame time with the former.
E Z E K I E L xxiv, xxv.
On the tenth day of the tenth month in the fame year, when Nebu-
chadnezzar's army ha;' laid ftege$o Jerufaiem, the fame was revealed, on
the very fame day, to Ezekielin Chaldea; and the deftrucrion of the city
was t\ pified -by. a boiling caldron j the iV.me da}- alio his wife died, as re-
corded in chap. xxiv. But vengeance is d'enounc I ihe neigh-
bouring countries^ that rejoiced in the preceding 1 , or fhould
rejoice in thofe that were to come upon Judea. Chap. xxv.
JEREMIAH xxxvii. Ver. 1 11,
Not lonor after Nebuchadnezzar's army had laiJ fiege to feruj
Pharaoh tJophfa came with a gVeat force to the relief of Zcdckiah. Upon
which Nebuchadiuzzar rail". of Jerufalem, in order to march
againfc him. Upon which Zcdckiah fent a meflage to Jeremiah, before
he was put into ptifon, chap, xxxvii. 4. the anlwer to which is con-
tained in chap, xxxvii. 1 11.
JEREMIAH xxxiv. Ver. 8. to the end.
Upon the approach of Nebuchadnezzar^ army, the terrified Jews en-
tered into a folemn covenant, to obferve God's law, and to releafe the
Hebrew fervants, which they kept in bondage contrary to his law.. But
when the Chaldeans were gofte to meet Pharaoh, the general opinion be-
ing, that they would return no more, the Jews openly violated the co-
venant of reformation, by obliging all their fervants to return to their
former fervitude : for which impious ait, the Prophet proclaimed liberty
to the/word, kc.
JEREMIAH
Ch. XXXIV. Prophets before the Captivity. 1 59
JEREMIAH xxxvii. Vcr. 11 16.
When the Chaldeans were gone to meet Pharaoh, Jeremiah was re-
leafed out of prifon ; and intending to retire to Anathoth, from the cala-
mities of the liege, which he knew would be renewed, was taken up for
a deferter as he was paffing through the gate, and clapt in prifon ; but
principally for parading that the city fhouid again be befieged and taken
by Nebuchadnezzar.
JEREMIAH xxxii, xxxiii.
While Jeremiah was in prifon, the contents of thefe chapters were
tranfacied.
FZEKIEL xxlx. Ver. 1 17. xxx.
Upon the approach of the Chaldeans, the Egyptians treachcroufly de-
ferted Zedekiah, and returned into their own country. Upon this occa-
sion, Ezekiel denounces the difpleafure of God againft: their perfidy, pre-
dicts their defolation, and at length (within 40 years, chap. xxix. 13.)
their being reduced to one of the bafeft of nations, infomuch that they
fhouid no more have a prince of their own to reign over them. Chap.
xxx. 13. Which hath been remarkably fulfilled, even unto this day.
See Dr. Prideaux's Con. ad Annum 593. Zedekiah 10.
JEREMIAH xxxvii. Ver. 17, to the end.
On the retreat of the Egyptians, Nebuchadnezzar returned to the fiege
of Jcrufalem ; and it was then king Zedekiah, fearing the ifTue, fent for
Jeremiah out of prifon to confult him.
JEREMIAH xxxviii. Ver. 1 14.
The princes, offended at Jeremiah, caft him into a low, loathfome,
miry dungeon, where he muft have perifhed, had not Ebcd-melech gained
leave to draw him out, and to place him in a better fituation in the court
of the prifon.
JEREMIAH xxxix. Ver. 15, to the end.
While Jeremiah was in the court of the prifon, God by him fent a
meflage of mercy and deliverance to Ebed-mclech.
JEREMIAH
160 Prophet* before the Captivi . Ch. XXXIV.
JEREMIAH xxxviii. Verfe 14, to the end.
Zedekiah again fent for Jeremiah out of the court of the prifon into
the temple, there fecretly to enquire of him about the iffue of the fiege.
E Z E K I E L xxvi, xxvii, xxviii.
Here God declares his judgments againft Tyre, for infulting the ca-
lamitous ftate of Jerufalem, clofelv bcfieged by Nebuchadnezzar . Note — .
Daniel1 s wifdom, though but about 36, was become famous overall the
Kail. Chap, xxviii. 3.
EZEKIEL xxxi.
God declares his judgments againft Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
JEREMIAH xxxix. Ver. 1 11. lii. Vcr. I 30.
The account of Jerufalcm's being taken, with the fubfequent circum-
jftances. Upon this occalion the 137th Pialm was compoied.
JEREMIAH xxxix. Ver. it— 15. xl. Ver. 1—7.
Nebuchadnezzar giveth charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebwza-
radan; who treateth him in a kind and friendly manner.
JEREMIAH xl. Ver. 7, to the end. xli, xlii, xliii. Vcr. 1— 3.
Nebuchadnezzar makes Gcduliah governor of Judca. TJJmael
flays him. Johanan, &c. by force carry Jeremiah into Egypt.
CHAP.
Cii. XXXV. Prophets after the Deflruftloni &c, i6f
CHAP. XXXV.
Prophets after the DeJiruRion of the Temple, during thp
Captivity.
J E R E M I A H xliii. Ver. 8, to the end. xliv.
THE Prophecies contained in thefe Chapters were revealed, and
publifhed to the Jews, in the Una of" Egypt,
The Book of LAMENTATIONS.
This Book, which mournfully bewails the defolation of Jerufalem
Td the Temple, wascompofed by **■
bly in the land of Egypt ; when
we never hear of his return from thi
l HIS dook, wnii.ii mournruiiy D<rwaus>
and the Temple, wascompofed by Jeremiah after that fad event, pof-
hbly in the land of Egypt; where Jeremiah might end his days ; for
E Z E K I E L xxxiii.
r The beginning of this chapter is upon a general fubje£r, and of un-
certain date. From the 21ft verfe it is dated from the time when Eze-
kiel fir ft received the news of the city's being taken and deftroyed, which
was 18 months, or a year and a half, after the fad event happened.
E Z E K I E L xxxii.
This prophecy againft Egypt was delivered in this year and month.
EZEKIEL xxxiv, xxxvi, xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix.
These chapters fall under no dale, till we come to the 40th chap-
ter, which is dated the 25th of Jehoiachin's captivity. Therefore, thefe
chapters were probably delivered fome time between the 12th and 25th
of that captivity.
O B A D I A H.
Obadiah prophefied againft the Edomites for their unnatural and
fpiteful behaviour towards the Jews, in their diftrefs at the taking of
Jerufalem.
EZEKIEL
1 fo Prophets after the Dcjlruclion. Ch. XXXV.
EZEKIEL xxxv.
This prophecy againft the Edomites feems to have been delivered
upon the lame occai'ion.
DANIEL iii.
In this year alfo Nebuchadnezzar fct up his golden image. See Dr.
Pride aux's Con. Anno 5B7. Ncbuchad. 18.
EZEKIEL xl, xli, £*<r. to the end of the Book.
All thefe vifions and prophecies, relating to the future ftate of the
church of God, were revealed to Ezekicl this year, being the 14th from
the deftrudtion of Jerufalem,
EZEKIEL xxix. Ver. 17. to the end.
Nebuchadnezzar's army having endured great hardfhips in the
fiege of lyre, which held 13 years, and having got little on the taking
of it, (the inhabitants having conveyed themfelves and their effects
into the adjacent ifland) God, by the Prophet Ezekiel, promifeth them
the fpoils of Egypt, as a reward for their labour. See Dr. Prideaux's
Con. ad An. 573. Nebuchad. 32.
DANIEL iv.
This year Nebuchadnezzar had his dream of the wonderful great tree,
and the cutting down thereof; and the next year fell diff.rac.ted. See
Dr. Prideaux's Con. ad An. 570*
JEREMIAH Hi. Ver. 31, to the end.
This year Nebuchadnezzar dies, and is fucceeded by his fon, Evil-
merodach, who releafed Jchoiachin, king of Judah, out of prifon, where
he had been confined 37 years, and advanced him to honour and friend-
fhip. Note^ This laft chapter was not wrote by Jeremiah (fee chap.
li. 64.) but by Baruch or Ezra, or whoever collected Jeremiah's pro-
phecies into one volume.
DANIEL
Ch. XXXV. of the Temple, &c. 16$
DANIEL vii.
Daniel had the vifion of the four monarchies, and of the kingdom
of the Mejjiah.
DANIEL viii.
Daniel had the vifion of the ram and he-goat.
DANIEL v.
Daniel reads the hand-writing on the wall. Belfaazzar is ftain.
Darius the Mede took the AJJ'yrian, kingdom.
DANIEL vi.
Daniel's being advanced by Darius above all the princes, and made
prime minifter, next to the king, raifed fo great an envy againft him
among the courtiers, that they laid the inare for him which brought
him to the lion's den.
DANIEL ix.
Daniel, apprehending from the prophecy of Jeremiah, that the 70
years captivity of Judah were drawing to an end, maketh his prayer to
God for the restoration of Jerufalem. In anfwer to which, the Angel
Gabriel was fent to affure him of a much greater redemption to the
Jewijk nation by the Mejjiah, at the end of 70 weeks, or 490 years.
EZRA i, ii.
Darius dieth ; Cyrus fucceeds him, and by his decree puts an end
to the 70 years captivity of the Jews, This in the fir ft chapter of
Ezra. In the fecond chapter. an account is given of the Jews that re-
turned. Note — On the return of Judah and Benjamin from the Baby-
lonifh captivity, feveral of the other tribes of Ifrael returned with them
out of JJJyria, Babylon, and Media, whither they dad been before carried.
Zszravi. 17. See Dr. Prideaux's Con. ad An. 536. p. 190. Upon
this joyous occafion the 126th Pfalm was compofed.
EZRA iii.
The Jews begin to rebuild Jerufalem and the Temple.
Vol. I. L CHAP, XXXVI.
r64 Prophets after the Captivity. Cff. XXXVI*
CHAP. XXXVI.
Prophets after the Captivity under the fecond- Temple.
EZRA iv.
THE Samaritans obftrucT: the Jews in the building of the City
and Temple : and (o the work ceafed till the fecond year of
Darius Hyfafpes; namely, for 14 years.
DANIEL x, xi, x-ii.
The vifions and prophecies in thefe chapters were revealed to Daniel
in the third year of Cyrus, and the third year after the Captivity.
H AGG A I i. Ver. 1— 12.
Haggai excites Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jejbua, the high-
prieft, to build the Lord's houle, in the fecond year of Darius Hyftafpeso-
HAGGAI i. Ver. 12. to the end. EZRA v. i, 2.
Zerubbabel and Jejhua immediately apply to the work.
HAGGAI ii. Ver. 1-10.
Haggai encourages them from the Lord to proceed.
ZECH ARIA B i. Ver. 1--7.
Zechariah makes his firft addrefs to the Jews, who were building
the Temple, alluring them that God would turn to them with a blefl-
ing, if they turned to him by repentance and reformation.
HAGGAI ii. Ver. 10. to the end.
Haggai rebukes the indifference of the Jews in building the Temple ;
encourages vigorous endeavours with the blefling of plenty; and allures
Zerubbabel of the extraordinary favour of God,
ZJECHARIAH
Ch. XXXVL under the fecond Temple. 165
ZECHARIAH i. Ver 7. to the end. ii, iii, iv, v, vi.
At this time thefe viftons, greatly encouraging the Jews in building
the City and Temple, and alluring them of the Divine protection againft
all their enemies, were revealed to Zecbariab„
EZRA v. Ver. 3. to the end.
The Samaritans again difturb the Jews, and put a Hop to the build-
ing of the Temple.
EZRA vi. Ver. 1 15.
Darius fends a decree to Jerufaletn, positively ordering the Temple
to be rebuilt, and the expences of it furnifhed out of the taxes of the
provinces. Which accordingly was done, till it was fuiiihed. See
Dr. Pride aux's Con. ad An. 518.
ZECHARIAH vii, viii.
The Jews who were in Babylon, (for great numbers ftill remained
there, and in other parts of the Perftan empire,) judging that the ftate
of^W«raand Jerufalemvtzs now fo thoroughly refrored and eftablifhed
by Darius's decree, that it might be no longer proper to keep the fa ft
in the fifth month (when the City and Temple were burnt by Nebuza-
radan), which they had hitherto obferved for 70 years together, fent two
meflengers to Jerufci'em, to afk the opinion of the priefts and prophets
that were there, about this matter. And God gave them, by the Pro-
phet Zecbariab, the anfwer relating to that and other farts, which we
have in the feventh and eighth chapters of his prophecy.
ZECHARIAH ix, x, xi, xii, xiii, xiv-
As thefe chapters have no date, we may fuppofe they were delivered
in fome of the times fubfequent to the fourth year of Darius Hv/Iajpes,
EZRA vi. Ver. 15. to the end.
This year the Temple wasfinifhed, and dedicated with great joy and
folemnity. The Jews had been about it, from firft to laft, 20 years.
L2 ESTHER
i66 Prophets after the Captivity, Cn. XXXVf.
ESTHER i.
Artaxerxes, or Ahafucrus, being thoroughly fettled in his throne,
made a great feaii for all his nobles, and divorced Vajhti his queen.
ESTHER if. Ver. i— 16.
A collection of virgins made for the king, of which Ejlher was one.
EZRA vii, viii, ix, x.
In the beginning of this year Ezra received from Artaxerxes, or Aha-
fuerust a very ample commifiion for his return to Jerufaletn^ with any
of his countrymen that were difpofed to go along with him; giving
them full authority in things both civil and religious, to regulate both
according to the law. This decree was probably granted at the felici-
tation of Efther. See Dr. Pride aux's Cm. ad An. 458. The decree,
the families and numbers of the "Jews that went with Ez^a to Jerufa-
lem, fall within the compafs of this and the next year, and are contained
in the four laft chapters of this Book.
Note. From Ezra's entering upon this work, the beginning of
Daniel's 70 weeks is to be computed. Dr. Prideaux's Con. ad An.
458, p. 377. Noteallb That Ezra continued in the government
about 1 3 years; till Nehemiah fucceeded him in the 20th year of Artax-
erxeSy or Ahafuerus.
ESTHER ii. Ver. 16 21.
Esther, after having been only concubine about two years, is now
made queen.
ESTHER ii. Ver. 21. to the end.
Bigthan and Tarejh, two eunuchs in the palace, entered into a
confpiracy againft the life of Artaxerxes, or Ahafuerus , which wasdifco-
vcred to the king by Mordecai^ queen Ejlher 's uncle.
ESTHER iii, iv, v, &c. to the end of the Book.
Haman, an Amihkiie, defcended from king Agag, in Saul's time,
made prime minifrcr to Artaxerxcs% laid a plot to extirpate the whole
race of the Jtws. But it turned upon himfclf, as related in the book of
Ejlher.
NEHEMIAH
Ch. XXXVI. under the fccond Temple. 167
NEHEMIAH i, ii, iii, fete, to the end of the Book.
Nehemiah, with a commiflion from Artaxerxes, or Ahafuerus, pro-
bably by favour of queen Efther, (Neh. ii. 6.) fucceedeth Ezra in the
government of Ji/dea, rebuilds the walls, repeoples Jrrufalem, reforms
diforders, &c. Thus he was employed for 12 years; namely, from
the 20th to the 32d year of Artaxerxes, Neh. v. 14. xiii. 6. Within
which i\me Ezra is fuppofed to have published his edition of the Hebrew
Scriptures. See Dr. Prideaux's Con. p. 475, &c.
Nehemiah returns from Jerufalem to the Perftan court. Neb. xiii. 6.
MALACHI
1, 11, 111, IV.
About this time flourimed Malachi, the Prophet. See Dr. Pri-
OEAUx's Con. (id An. 428. p. 570.
NEHEMIAH xiii. Ver. 6, 7, &f<r.
After certain days, i. e. after about five years, Nehemiah comes
2gain to Jerufalem with a new com million, and makes further reforma-
tion : with which act of reformation, the holy Scriptures of the Old
Teftament are clofed up.
Simon the jufty high prieft of the Jeius, completes theCanon of the
Old Teftament, by adding the two Books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah,
Ejlher, and Malachi. " That thefe could not be put into the Canon by
" Ezra, is plain : for four of thofe books are, upon juft grounds, fup-
•' pofed to have been written by Ezra himfelf, (that is, the two books of
** Chronicles, and the Books of Ezra and Ejlher ,) and the Book of Ne-
" hemiah was written after his [£zra's] time ; and fo mod likely was
** the Book of Malachi alfo. And therefore a later time muft be affigned
" for their infertion into the facred Canon ; and none is more likely
" than that of Simon the juji, who is faid to have been the laft of the
** men of the great fynagogue. What the Jews call the great fynagogue,
** were a number of elders, amounting to 120, fucceedmg each other in
«< a continued feries from the return of the Jews from the Babylonijh
** captivity, to the time of Simon the jvjl, and laboured in reftoring the
" Jewi/k church and ftate in that country. In order to which, the
f' holy Scriptures being the rule they were to go by, their chief care and
" ftudy was to make a true collection of thofe Scriptures, and publifh
** them accurately to the people. Ezra, and the men of the great fy-
" nagogue in his time, fettled the Canon of all but the forefaid books ;
*' and thofe were probably fettled, and added to the Canon, in the times
" of Simon the juji, who died about 31 years after Alexander the Great.
" For in 1 Chron. iii. 19, cffV. the genealogy of the fons of Zerubbabel is
u carried down for fo many defcents after him as may well be thought
4i to reach the times of Alexander. And in Neh, xii, 22. we have the
L 3 days
165 The.StateoftheJews, Ch. XXXVII.
'< days ofjaddua fpoken of, as then part: ; but Jaddua outlived Alexan-
*' der two years. Thefe paflages, therefore, were probably inferted by
*« Simon the juj?y who perfected, and finally fettled the Canon of the
*« holy Scriptures. After this followed the mijhnical times, that is, the
•* times of traditions. Hitherto the Scriptures were the only rule of
«' faith and manners which God's people ftudied; but thenc. forth tra-
*• ditions began to be regarded, till at length they ovei bore the word
" of God iuelf, as we find in our Saviour's time. The collection of
" thefe traditions they call the mij/j nab, that is, the fecond law; and
*« thofe who delivered and taught them v/ere ftiled the mijhnical Doc-*
«« tors." See Dr. Prideaux's Con, Anno 292. Ptolemy Soter, 13.*
CHAP. XXXVII,
The State of the Jews, and of other Nations, at the Time when our Lard
came into the World.
AFTER the Balylonijb captivity the Jews no more lapfed into
idolatry, but remained fleady in the acknowledgment and wor-
Ihip of the one living and true God. Even then they fell into new
ways of perverting religion, and the wife and holy intentions of the Di-
vine law. I. By laying all the ftrefs on the external and lefs momen-
tous parts of ir, v%h:le they neglected the weighty and fubftantial, true
holinefs of heart and life. Mankind arc too eafily drawn into this error :
while they retain a fenfe cf religion, they are too apt to liften to any
methods by which it may be reduced to a confiLlency with the gratifica-
tions of their paflions, piice, and avarice. Thus by placing religion
in mere prof. ffion, or in the zealous obfervance of rites and ceremonies,
inftcad of real piety, truth, purity, and gocdnefi-, they learn to be reli-
gious without virtue. IT. By (peculating and commenting upon the
Divine commands and inftitutions, till their force is quite enervated, and
they are refined into a finfe that will commedioufly allow a flight regard
inftcad of fincere obedience. III. By confirming-and eftabiiihing the
two former methods of corrupting religion, by tradition and the autho-
rity of learned Rabbies ; pretending that there was a fyftem of religious
rules delivered by word of mouth from Mofes, explanatory of the written
law, known only to thofe Rabbies; to whole judgment, therefore, and
decifion, all the people were to fubmit.
This, in time, the fpace of 219 years, became the general flate of re-
ligion among the Jeivs, after they had difcarded idolatry ; and this fpirit
prevailed among them for fome ages (.290 years) before the coming of
the Meffiah. But, however, it did not interfere with the main fyftem of
Providence, or the introducing the knowledge of God among theNa-
• Turn to the Appendix, for the Chronological Dates belonging to this and
chapters xxxiv. xxxv.
Ch. XXXVII. and of other Nation;, &c 1 69
tions, as they Mill continued fteadfair. in the worfhip of the true God,
without danger of deviating from it. Befuies, they were now, much
more than formerly, exerciied in reading, thinking, and reafoning, and
were more capable of themfelvcs of judging what was right. Luke xii.
57. And feveral of them did f.> judge. Some of them were truly re-
ligious and virtuous ; and all of them had ftrong expectation of the Mef-
fiah about the time of his appearance ; and were fufficiently qualified to
judge of religious matters, and of the evidences of his million. Thus
the yews were prepared by the preceding difpenfation for the reception
of the MeJJiah, and the juft notions of religion which he was fent to
inculcate ; infomuch that their guilt mud be highly aggravated, if they
•rejected him and his inftru&ions. It could not be for want of capacity,
but of integrity, and mult be affigned to wilful blindnefs and obduracy.
•Out of regard to temporal power, grandeur, and enjoyments, they loved
darknefs rather than light.
In the mean time, the Pagan Nations had made great openings in
wifdom and virtue. Thofe arts that began in Greece, had travelled into
other lands j learning had got footing among the illiterate, and huma~
nity and focial afTeclions among the barbarous ; and many good and
ufeful books, ufefuleven to this day among Chriftians, were written in
ethics for the right conduct of life. The light of nature was carried
high; or rather, the darknefs of it was much enlightened. Such was,
at length, the ftate of the Gentiles, God having {till been pleafed, from
time to time, to raife up among them perfens uncommonly endowed,
for their inftruction, and to-fit them for the day when he fhould more
explicitly reveal himfelf and his facred will to them. In a word, what
with time, and the transmigrating of knowledge from region to region,
and the labours of poets and philofophers, men, at about the clajjic esra^
when our Lord came into the world, in general, had gained tolerable
juft ideas of virtue and moral truth ; and fo, were in a condition to ap-
prehend and embrace the higher and more important truths of God, and
jlis providence, and a future ftate.
For many ages the fetus had been well known in the eaftern empires,
among the Adrians, Chaldeans, Medes, and Pe -flans; but till the time
of Alexander the Great, they had no communication with the Grecians,
About the year before Chrilr 332, Alexander built Alexandria in Egypt ;
and., to people his new city, removed thither many of the Jews, allowing
them the ufe of their own laws and religion, and the fame liberties with.
the Macedonians themfelves. The Macedonians, who fpalce the Greek
language, and other Greeks, were the principal inhabitants of Alexandria*
From them the 'Jews learned to fpeak Greek, which was the common
language of the city, and which loon became the native language of the
Jews that lived there ; who, on that account, were called Hellent/is, or
■Greek-Jews, imentioned Acls vi. 1 — g. xi. 20 Thefe Greek-Jews had
fynagogues in Alexandria ; and for their benefit, the five books of Mofes,
which alone at firlt were publicly read, were t ran fl a ted into Greek, (by
whom is uncertain) and read in their fynagogues every fabbath-day. And
in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, about 168 years before Chnji, when
the Prophets alfo began to be read in the fynagogues of Jndca., the Pro-
phets alfo were tranflatsd into Greek for the ufe of the Alexandrian Jews.
. L 4 This
170 The State of the Jews, Ch. XXXVII.
This, tranflation contributed much to the fpread of the knowledge of
true religion among the Nations in the wcfttrn parts of the world.
For the Jews, their fynagogues and worfhip, were, after Alexander's
death, difperfed almoft every where among the Nations. Ptolemy, one
of A.exander's fuccefTors, having reduced Jerufalemand all Judea, about
320 years before Chrijl, carried a hundred thoufand Jews into Egypt, and
there raifcd confiderable numbers of them to places of truft and power ;
and feveral of them he placed in Cyrene and Libya. Seleucus, another of
Alexander's fuccefTors, about 300 years beforq Chrijl, built Antioch in Ci-
I'ida, and many other cities, in all 35 and fome of them capital cities in
the Greater and Leffer AJt , ... ... ivhi ted the Jews, giving
them equal privileges and immunities with the Greeks and Macedonians ;
efpecially at Antioch in Syria, where they fettled in great numbers, and
became almoft as confiderable a part of that city, as they were at Alex-
andria. Dr. Prideaux's Gen. Anno 293. Ptolemy Soier, 12. On that
memorable day of Pentccoji, A£ts ii. 5, 9, 11, 12. were affembied in Je-
rufalcm, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven ; namely, Par-
thians, Mcdes, and Perjians of the province of Elymais, inhabitants of
Mtfopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Afea, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt,
Cyrene in Lybia, Rome, Cretes, and Arabs, who were all either natural
Jews, or devout men. i.e. priofelytes to the Jewijh religion. And in
every city of the Roman empire where Paul preached, he found a body
of his countrymen, the Jews ; except in Athens, which was at that
time, I fuppofe, a town of no confiderable trade. Which fhews that
the Jews, and their fynagogues, at the time of our Lord's appearance,
were providentially fcattercd over all the Roman empire ; and had in every
place introduced, more or Id's, among the nations, the knowledge and
woifhip of God ; and fo had prepared great numbers for the reception
of the Gofpel.
About the time that Alexander built Alexand> ia in Egypt, the ufe of the
Papytus for writing was firft found out in that country. Dr. Pri-
deaux's Con. Anno 332. Darius 4. p. 706. Vol. If. This invention
was fo favourable to literature, that Ptolemy Soter, one of Alexander's fuc-
cefTors, was thereby enabled to erect a mufeum, or libiary ; which by
his fon and fucccffcr, Philadelphia, who died 247 years before Chrijl, was
augmented to an hundred thoufand volumes 3 and by fuccecding Ptole-
mies, to feven hundred thoufand. Part of this library, which was placed
in a feparate building from the other parr, happened to be burnt when
Julius Cafar laid fiege to Alexandria ; but, afcer that lofs, it was again
much augmented, and foon grew up to be larger, and of more eminent
rote, than the former ; and fo it continued for many ages to be of great
fame and ufe in thofe parts, till at length it was burnt and finally de-
ftroved by the Saracens, in the year of our Lord 642. Dr. Prideaux's
Co?:'. Vol. IJI. p. 21, c/V. Anno 284. This plainly proves how much
the invention of turning the Papyrus into paper contributed to the in-
creafe.pf books, and the advancement of learning, for fome ages before
the coming of our Lord ; for doubtlefs, by this means, private hands
would alio more eafily be fupplied with books than before.
Add to all this, that the world, after many changes and revolutions,
Was, by God's ail -ruling wii'dom, thrown into that form of civil affairs
which
CH. XXXVII. and of other Nations, &c. 171
which beft fuited with the great intended alteration. The many petty
ftates and tyrannies whofe paflions and bigotry might have run counter
to the fchemes of Providence, were all fwallowed up in one great power,
the Remans, to which all appeals lay ; the feat of which, Rome, lay at
a great diftance from Jerufalem, the fpring from whence the Gofpel was
to arife, and flow to all nations. And therefore, as no material obftruc-
tion to the Gofpel could arife but from that one quarter, none could
fuddenly arife from thence, but only in procefs of time, when the Gof-
pel was fufficiently fpread andeftablifhed, as it did not in the leaft in-
terfere with the Roman polity or government. The Gofpel was firft
publifhed in a time of general peace and tranquillity throughout the
whole world, which gave the preachers of it an opportunity of pafling
freely from one country to another, and the minds of men the advan-
tage of attending calmly to it. Many lavage Nations were civilized by
the Romans, and acquainted with the arts and virtues of their conquerors.
Thus the darkefr. countries had. their thoughts awakened, and were
growing to a capacity of receiving at the {tated time, the knowledge
of true religion. So that all things and circumftances confpired now
with the views of Heaven, and made this apparently the fulnefs of titii'^
(Gal. iv. 4.) or the fitteft juncture for God to reveal himlelf to the Gen-
tiles, and to put an end to idolatry throughout the earth. Now the
minds of men were generally ripe for a purer and brighter difpenfation,
and the circumftances of the world were fuch as favoured the fuccefs
and progrefs of it.
In this very time the MeJJiab came : nor, for ought I can fee, could
he have come more opportunely at any other ; becaufe the world was
at no other preceding time fo well prepared to receive his dodtrines. As
to remiffion of fin, and eternal falvation, it is all one whenever he came:
becaufe the facrince which he offered for fin, had its effects with re-
gard to the time paft, as well as to the time to come ; to the penitent,
that were dead, as well as to the living, or thofe that were yet to be born.
(See Scripture DoSliine of Atonement, p. 80.) immortality mull belong
as much to thofe who lived virtuoufly, according to their degree of light,
before the Meflia}} came, as to thofe who lived after his coming; and
the bleffednefs of the future ftate, though not alike revealed, yet was
alike acceflible to the one as to the other.
Upon a review of the whole, it will appear, that the condition of
mankind was bettered flep by frep, as the reafon and nature of things di-
rected and would permit. The fcope and intendment of the whole
fcheme of Divine Providence, in all its various difpenfations, was to
bring human nature, by proper degrees, and in a way confiftent with
moral agency, to all the beauty, holinefs, and perfection it can, in this
prefent itate, attain to. And though we are not indeed ?ble absolutely
to trace all the reafons of the Divine conduct, and to demonftrate the
v/ifdom of it in every particular ; yet we may in general difcov<;r, that
all the parts of this fcheme were wifely formed, and purfued, depend-
ing regularly on each other, leading to the fame great and good end,
and adapted to the refpective circumftances and condition of mankind.
Note— After the publication of the Gofpel, the Jcwijh peculiarity
was no longer of ufe for preserving the knowledge of God in the world.
That
i.72 ■ Th Expediency of an Ch. XXXVIIT.
That end would be much better anfwered by its difTolution, and the dtf-
perfion of the Jews all over the earth, as they are even unto this day.
[For the moft excellent charade r of Jefus Cbrijl, and the Divine prin-
ciples, doctrine, and fpirit of the Goipel, fee my Treatife upon the
^Lord's Supper*]*
CHAP. XXXVIII.
Mankind, having cbufed ihe'ir Natural Powers, Jland in need of an
Extraordinary Revelation.
THE Scriptures are the word of God; they are the language
and addrefs of the univerfal Father to his children in this world,
whom he hath endowed with rational Faculties to hear and underftand
his voice. The Scriptures are given by infpiraticn of God, a::d arc profita-
ble f:r doclrine, for reproof, for ro> rcftion, for injhucltcn in rigbUoufnefs,
2 Tun. iii. 16. The glory of God indeed is to be fee n in all the works
of his hands; and the fpeech of his Almighty power, wifdom, and
goodnefs, is to be heard in the appearances of crearion which are daily
before our eyes. Pfal.xix. I, &c. Mankind, in a faithful ufe of their
natural Powers, might, without any other guide, know God. Rom. i,
19. For that which may be known of God is manifefi in them ; for God
haihjb.wcd it unto than {for tie invifible things of him from the creation
ef the world are clearly feen, being under flood by the things that are made,fo)
that even the Heathen, who have no other rule but the light of nature,
they might be vjithcut exc fe, if they are totally ignorant of God. But
how much Mankind in all a^es have abufed and mifapplied their under-
ftandings, is notorioufiy evident ; and therefore it muft be evident how
much they ftand in need of an extraordinary Revelation to correct their
errors, to reduce them to the obedience of God, and to fecure them
•from relapfmg into idolatry and apoftacy from him.
I think, no book can contain more evident marks of fuch a Revela-
tion than the Scriptures, eminently fo called, which we are happily
poiTeffed of. There we have the fulleft and cleareir account of the na-
ture and perfections of God, beyond what the world at beft could have
attained to, and far beyond what could, in the ordinary courfe of things,
have been preferved through fuccccding generations. The knowledge
of
* With this chapter ends Dr. Taylor's Scheme of Scri pture-D ivi-
jcity, from the copy he printed at Warrington, for the ufe of the Students
in the Academy there ; and fincc corrected, with the Hebrew and Greek
words infertcd, by himfelf.
The following chapters the Editor hath annexed, and are printed from
Dr. Taylor's Manufcript ; and would have ?ppeared to greater advantage,
had they had his correcting hand.
Ch. XXXVIII. Extraordinary Rtvelathn. 'jy j
of God not being a mere fpeculative truth, but having near connexion
with our morals, would confequently, as the morals of men are very
liable to be corrupted, have alio proportionably been obfcurcd, till it had
in a manner quite vaniihed away; which we know hath in fa£f. beea
true. In the Scriptures, as in a durable ftorehoufe, not to be demo*
lifhed by time, or uncertain tradition, we have the moft noble difcove-
ries of the nature and perfections of God, as he is our Maker, our Fa-
ther, Owner, Ruler, and daily Benefactor; as he is glorious in all his
attributes ; as he is infinite, and independent, eternal, and unchange-
able, in his being, knowledge, wifdom and power ; as perfectly holy,
good, righteous, and true. And thefe glories of the Divine nature arc
defenbed, not in the way of philofophical difTertations, not by a feries
of abirraci reasoning, which, how amufing or inftructing foever to minds
of a more refined turn and tafte, are but of little fervice to the bulk of
mankind, who have but little leifure, and perhaps lefs inclination, to
attend to the curious and abftrufer deductions of reafon ; not thus are the
glories of the Divine nature delineated in Scripture, but exhibited in a
long and eafily-intelligible feries of fa£r.s and events, wherein God hath
manifefted his goodnefs, wifdom, power, and jmtice, from the beginning
of the world. In which way the mind, with very little labour of thought,
is at once convinced of the being and perfections of God, and itruck
with admiration, reverence, love, and every right affection which the
knowledge of God fhould produce in us.
In the Scriptures any one, in common life, may not only very readily
fee that God is, and that he is ail that the moft learned, the mod exaft,
the moft fubtle, the mod fublime philofophy, all that the utmoft appli-
cation and fludy of the wifeft men can d'ifcover ; but he feeth this at the
fame time in a practical light; he feeth that God is all this to us; that,
as great as he is in himfelf, he is our God and Father; that he hath^
from his own immenfity of being, given us being, a noble and diftin-
guifhed kind of being ; that he constantly regards us, loveth us, inte-
refts himfelf in our affairs, is concerned for our welfare, is daily near
US, the object of our truft and dependence; that all our fafety is in his
favour; and that in his favour, and under his protection, we are infinitely
fafe and happy : that we are accountable to him for our actions,
that we are continually under his eye, 2nd can flee no whither from his
fpirit and prefence ; that we ought always to fet him before us, to a£t
as in his fight, and to approve ourfelves to his all-fearching eye; that he
hath taken us into the neareft relations to himfeif; that his deiign is to
make us good, in ord:r to make us for ever happy ; that, for this pur-
pofe, he hath been carrying on various difpenfations, from the beginning
of the world, to invite and draw men unto himfelf.
At length, in the fulnefs of time, in that time which to his infinite
wildom feemed moft expedient, he fent a divine meftenger, the word,
his only b gotten Son, from his own bofom, to redeem men from ini-
quity, to reconcile them to God ; and in the way, Divine wildom judged
moft proper to eftablifh, upon the moft firm and beautiful foundation,
the eternal falvation of ail pious and virtuous men that have ever been,
Or (hail h reafter be in the world. The eternal God in Chrift will be
their everlafting firength, and joy, and glory. Thus, I would obferve,
we
174- The Expediency of an Ch. XXXVIII.
we not only, in the eafieft and cleareft way, learn God and his perfec-
tions from Scripture, but we learn them in a manner the moft proper
end powerful to engage and unite our hearts to God, to warm and
quicken our fpirits, to excite us to the love and obedience of God, and
to confider ourfelves infinitely interefted in his attributes and perfections;
which is to learn divine things, i. e. the moft excellent things, in a
method vaftly fuperior to all the reafonings and inftruclions of the beft
and wife ft philofophers.
In the Scriptures, any man of common fenfe may not only with eafe
learn his duty in the fulleft extent; but at the fame time, by the numerous
examples of pious men in all ag^s, he may fee that it is practicable, and
may fee how to engage in it ; how exact, how conftant, how ready and
cheerful he fhould be in the difchargc of it ; how he ought to refift:
temptations, to ftruggle with diffii .' ies. Even a mean capacity, by
reading the Scriptures, fhall at the fame time difcern the reafonablenefs
and the rcauty of holinefs, and alfo be furnifhed with the itrongeft argu-
ments and motives to embrace it, and toperfevefe therein; fhall be af-
fured of the Divine affiftance and protection in a religious courfe, fhall
find the moft proper confolations nnd encouragements in every the moft
diftreffed ftate of affairs ; to every precept he fhall find an adjoined pro-
mife; and his duty will fhine brightly before his eyes, in the light and
hope of everlafting glory.
There we have the trueft and moft effectual rules for forming our
rnimls into all habits of virtue ; not fimple propofitions, declaring what
we ought to do and be, but rules of life intermixed with the power and
fplendour of Divine grace, working mightily to renew us into the Divine
nature. There religion appears in all its truth, luftre, fweetnefs, and
majefty. There it is dreffed in all its charms ; not as a four, fevere,
morofe, gloomy principle, forbidding enjoyment, and the parent only of
for row, horror, and defpair, but as our life, our glory, our peace, our
joy; as giving us. the trueft relifti and enjoyment of life, as the fource
of the moft folid p leaf u re and comfort, as uniting us to God, as lodging
us for ever in the Almighty arms of his love and goodnefs; as leading
to, and preparing for, endlefs joys arid pleafures in his prefence.
As to fin and wickednefs, the philofophers have faid much concerning
the odious nature of vice; that it is evil, and the worft of evils; that
it is the difeafe and deformity of the mind, hurtful to the health of
the body, and ruinous to the reputation and eftate. Their reflections
were <o far juft, but the benefit of them was confined to men of letters
and ftudy; the vulgar received little or no advantage from them : but in
the Scriptures, the meaneft minds are favoured with far better inftruc-
tions than they couid give. There fin is not only fet forth in all its
odious colours, and in ail its pernicious effects, as to this prefent life ;
Rut its deadly nature is demonftrated as it ftands in contrariety to God,
as it is the tranfgreffion of his holy law, as it eypofeth us to his difplea-
fure, and dil(|ualifieth us for his bkfling ; as it is oppofite to all the ends
of opr creation, and confequently as defcrving of death. That God
will punifh all the impenitent workers of iniquity with everlafting de-
struction, and purge out of his kingdom every thing that offends, that it
either mifchievous or polluting. And all this is lb plainly and power-
fully
Ctt. XXXVIII. Extrordlnary Revelation. T75
fully inculcated upon the mind, by many dreadful examples of the Di-
vine vengeance upon ungodly men, throughout the whole feries of
Scripture- hiftory, by fo many exprefs declarations of God's wrath, and
fo many exhortations of his goodnefs and mercy, to turn from every
evil way, that no one, who carefully and ferioufly reads the Scriptures
can mils, not only of feeing the evil, the irregularity and deformity of
fin, but of having his mind affected with it, and wrought into the moft
rational and the moft fettled deteftation of it.
With regard to the pardon of fin, the wifeft of philofophers feem to
have very imperfect notions of it. They rarely and very fuperficially
confidercd it in its relation of difTonancy to the Divine perfe£tions ; and
therefore fay little or nothing concerning the placablenefs of the Deity,
whether God would pardon fin, or in what way his wifdom thought
proper to do it. Sacrifices were frequent among them; but they feem
to have underftood nothing of their true nature and end, nor were at all
folicitous to inquire into them. In truth, they did not underftand the
true demerit of fin, and therefore of courfe muft be in the dark as to
the remiflion of it. But all thefe things ars open and obvious to the
weakeft capacity, in Scripture.
How much the world was in the dark about a future (trite without a
Revelation, is well known; and how clearly now the world to come is
opened to. us in the awful profpecls of eternal happinef?, or endlefs per-
dition, can be concealed from none who are ever fo little acquainted with
the Gofpel of Chrift.' Thefe things, duly attended to, will fhew
us the admirable excellency of the holy Scriptures ; that God's word is
truth, and able to make us wife unto falvation; and further to demon-
Urate, that it is our duty to be much in reading them.
Reading the Scriptures is one of the firft principles of our religion,
as we are Chriftians, becaufe our profefHoh is built wholly upon the
Scriptures. We juuMy own no other rule of our faith but the-word of
God. Eph. ii. 20. TVe are built upon the foundation cf the Apojtns-^ana
Prophets, Jtftis Chrijl hi tnfelf being the chief corner-flone. And we are
built upon no other foundation. If we are true Chriftians, however
we may ufe or value the writings of men, we make not them, not the
beft of them, the rule of our faith, but the word of God alone. But
that rule ought to be thoroughly perufed, and digefted; otherwife, how
good foever in itfelf, or how much foever we profefs to take it for our
rule, it is in f.uft no rule to us. The word of God is the guide of our
actions; it is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. Pfal. cxix.
105. Should we not then diligently ffudy the word of God, that we may
not wander from his commandments'? The word of God is the fpring
of all our comfort and hopes.
There, and there alone, we have the rich and immenfe treafure of the
Divine promifes ; and from thence alone we can draw folid fupportand
confolation, in any dark hour of trial and affliction. In fhort, to all
the valuable purpofes of knowledge and life, the Scriptures do infinitely
excel all human compositions whatfoever. They are but as the twink-
ling (tars to that ocean of light which is poured out daily from the body
of the fun. Of all the means of knowledge and wifdom in the world,
I know nothing to be compared with the word of God. The realon of
the
1?6 The Expediency of art Ch* XXXVllt*
the thing therefore requires we fhould have our eyes intent upon this
light and illumination. For this end God hath given us this invalua-*
bie treafure, the holy Scriptures, that we fhould make them our ftudy.
It muft be obferved carefully, that it is not enough to be much in
reading the Scriptures; but while we read, we fhould employ all our at-
tention to underftand them. The Scriptures may be underftood, but
evidently not in every degree by every man ; for as there are various forts
and degrees of knowledge in Scripture, fome perhaps, at pref.nt, be-
yond the reach of any man that ever yet was in the world ; and as there
are in men .various capacities, and degrees of learning; lb it is manifeft,
all men cannot attain to the famedegreeof underftanding in divine things :
but there muft necefiarily be a great difference between the knowledge
of one man and another in matters of faith and revelation. This fhews
the abfurdity of the Popifh fcheme, which pretends to reduce the Chrif-
tian faith in ail its parts to a certain invariable ftandard, to which every
man either explicitly or implicitly, either with or without underftanding,
muft conform.
This fhews, how much foever it is our duty to communicate know*
ledge one to another, that it is quite contrary to true religion to quarrel
with one another, or to be difpleafed becaufe we have not all the fame
degree of underftanding in matters of faith and religion ; becaufe this,
according to the prefent conftitution of our minds, and of the Revela-
tion God hath given us, which he never intended fhould be equally un-
derftood by all, is quite impracticable. But although the Scriptures are
not to be underftood in every degree by every man, yet they may be
underftood by every man fo far as God requireth, i.e. fo far as he -is
capable of underftanding them ; for what a man can underftand, he may
underftand, if he is not wanting to himfelf.
And as God can require of no man beyond his abilities, fo no more
than what a man can underftand of Scripture is to him a rule of faith
and practice; for what he cannot underftand, he cannot be bound to be-
lieve or do. Further, thofe things in Scripture which are of the higheft:
importance, and moft conducive to a holy life, are generally very eafy
to be underftood ; and therefore, how perplexed foever thofe other things
may be about which men have differed, though not fo perplexed in Re-
velation as they are in men's heads and writings,— yet, I fay, how per-
plexed and difficult foever they may be, the grand principles of faith
and practice are fo evident, that any ordinary capacity may, with due
care and attention, eafily gain the moft comfortable knowledge of them.
Thus the Scriptures may be underftood.
So far as they are not underftood, they are at leaft ufelefs to us.
Nay further, the Scriptures mifunderftood may prove very hurtful tdi
us. The things chiefly to be underftood in Scripture are principles, or
the grounds and reafons of things, and precepts which are the rules of
duty : now, if we miftake either, we fhall throw all into confuiion, our
■way will be all miff, and cloulds; that which fhould be light will be
tiarknefs, ck, which is all one, a falfe light to miflead us ; that which
fhould be our jov, will be our heaviness ; that which fhould be our com-
fort, and infpire cheerful hope, will be a dead weight to burthen our fpirits
and clog our courfe. Our path, which fhould be as the fhining light,
.that fhineth more and more, will be a gloomy melancholy road, and we
4 fhall
Ch. XXXVIH. Extraordinary Revelation, VJJ
fliall make our way with difficulty, becaufe we want that true fenfe anil
knowledge of the ways and will or God, which is neceffary to give life,
comfort, and vigour. Chimeras and frightful images will terrify our
confeiences, and fill us with ground lefs fears ; God will be painted in
monftrous colours; and all the ravifhing glories of his truth, wifdom,
and love, which fhould powerfully draw our hearts to him, will be hid
from our eye?. The luilre of redeeming grace will in part, or wholly,
be eclipfed. Some parts of religion will be fuperftitioufly magnified,
while others of greater confequence will be undervalued.
Further, if for want of due attention to the fenfe of Scripture wemif-
take and fall into error, v/e ought to be lenfible, that religious error is
of a far worfe nature than any other ; not only as it is error in a matter
of the greateft importance, but as it is of all otheis the nioft difficult
to be corrected. For under the facred name of religion it {betters and
defends itfe.'f, and gains the character of truth, of important, neceflary,
awful, and perhaps excellent truth ; and the unwary th',.-k themfelves
bound in conference and duty to maintain it with ze.2] : and then, who-
ever endeavouis to correct it, though ever (o much in the fpirit of meek-
nefs and peace, muff, do it at his peril. Hence thofe groffer infeances-
of perfecution and bloodfhed which have fouled the Chriftian namej
hence thofe wranglings, debates, heats, animofities, which have de-
ftroyed Chriftian focieties. Thefe things are the fruit of men's taking.
their religious principles upon truif, and not fetching them from the
Scriptures, ftudied, and underftcod by themfelves. Such contempt and
neglect of the word of God expofeth them to ftrong delufion, and fucrj
religion leads them to fight in the dark for they know not what. Thus
religion is corrupted, the corruption of it defended, and irreligion and
infidelity propagated, even by religious people themfelves. So the fcep-
tic, who is indifferent to any principles, when he finds abfurdity mixed
with the Chriftian faith, taking the whole for a true account of Chrifti-
anity, rejects the whole; for even common fenfe will not allow that
Revelation to be divine, which cannot, in many of its parts, be re-
conciled with the known perfections of God.
By this unhappy means what numbers in our land have been
drawn into Deifm ! And, by this unhappy means, I guefs, if the truth
were known, religion appears but in a doubtful light to many who feent
to be Itrict profefforsof it j for where it is not received in its proper evi-
dence, there cannot be, I think, a full and itrong affent of faith ; and
no man can receive it in its proper evidence, who doth not endeavour
carefully to underftand the Scriptures.
Thus many who talk much of the word of God, and pretend a great
reverence for it, may poffibly at the laft day be ranked among the de-
fpifers of it ; becaufe, although they have, perhaps, been much in read-
ing of it, they never fet themfelves in good earneft to underftand it, and
fo in effect might as well not have read it at all j for their reading of it
is only from a fuperftitious opinion,. as Turks, and Jews, and Papijisy
turn over the books in reputation among them, not from the love of
truth, not with a defire to underftand the truth j that moft people
fuppofe they underftand before they read their bibles, or however with-
out reading their bibles y not to open their eyes, and to give theni
a more
178 The Expediency cf &c. Qtt. XXXVUL
a more juft and diftincT: view of the ways and difpenfations of God,
fuch things they learn from other books ; not to confirm and efta-
blifh their minds in the faith of God and of Chrift; not for thofe
purpofes, I fear, are the Scriptures read, but only in a cuftomary, fu-
perftitious, or however in a very carelefs, fupcrhcial way : and there-
fore there are fo few Chriftians that grow in grace, that rife in fpiritual
ftrength, peace, love, and joy, becaufe there are fo few that grow in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift. 2 Pet, iii. 18.
The full knowledge of Chrift moft people prefume they have attained
long ago; and to talk of knowing more of Chrift, or in a clearer and
more rational way, is perfectly fhocking to them. They have fomewhere
or other fixed the precife ftandard of Divine knowledge, and either more
or lefs than that ftandard of theirs is impious and heretical. How then
can they grow in the knowledge of Chrift ? How can they fet them-
felves to underftand the Scriptures, who in another way, as they think,
have already gained the whole fum and body of fpiritual underftanding ?
See Rom. xv. 4. JVhatfoever thing* tmre written aforetime, were written
for our learning, for our infruclion, that we through patience and comfort of
the Scriptures might have hope. We have hope through that patience and
comfort which is taught in the Scriptures ; but the grounds and reafons
of that patience and comfort mult be underftood, otherwife we cannot
eftablifh in our minds afure andfolid hope. Hence it is that theChrif-
tian hope, that faith and hope which overcometh the world, is fo great
a rarity; therefore fo few rejoice in hope, becaufe fo few underftand
the Scriptures, which are the ground of the Chriftian hope. Laftly,
becaufe the Scriptures are but little underftood, therefore they are
fo little valued. We delight not in them, becaufe we know fo little
of them'.
Let it be remembered, that we fhall have the bene ft of the Scriptures
by ftudioufly endeavouring to underftand them. Then fhall we know
if we follow on to know the Lord. So far as we underftand the word
of truth, we fhall be truly enlightened, our confeiences will be rightly
directed, and all our principles well eftablifhed ; we fhall fee its real ex-
cellency, and it will accordingly be valued and efteemed ; we fhall tafte
its comforts, feel its power, be convinced of its Divine original, and it
will be pleafant and precious to us. The more we underftand of the
Scriptures, the more we fhall with pleafure fee the righteoufnefs, wif-
dom, a u.4 goodnefs of all the Divine difpenfations, that all of them are
adjufted and fettled by the love of a Father, and calculated to promote
our happinefs. This will draw our hearts to God, and fhew us the
infinite reafonablenefs of comporting with the conftitutions of his grace.
Ifweare built upon the foundation of the Apoftles and Prophets, our
faith will ftand upon a furc bottom, and not upon the weak, precarious
judgment of man ; henceforth we fhall be no more children tofled to
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, Ephef. iv. 14.
but fhall by ufe have our fenfes exercifed to difcern both good and evil.
Thus we fhall with our own eyes lee the truth, and be inftrumental in
preferving the purity of our religion. Thus we fhall grow up into
Chrift in all things, in knowledge, in faith, and love. Thus we fhall
be rooted am! grounded in love, in the love of God, of truth, and of
our
Ch. XXXIX. Objections againft, &c. 179
our neighbour. The knowledge we gain, whether it be more or lefs,
being drawn from the true fountain, will compofe our fpirits, and in-
cline us neither to defpife the weaknefs of thole that know lefs, nor to>
rejecl: the inftrudtions of thofe that may know more than ourfelves.
Thefe weighty confederations fhould engage us to read the Scriptures
with all poffible care and diligence, to itudy them with an upright de-
fire to gain their true fenfe and meaning. We all know how much men
are at variance about the fenfe of Scripture, one affirming that this, ano-
ther that that is the true fenfe. So it may well be expected to be in our
prefent weaknefs; and foGod hath permitted it to be; not to giv<. usoc-
cafion to cenfure, judge, and difparage one another, as is too common,
for this is exprefsly forbidden ; but this variety of fentiments is permitted,
to teach us to ceafe from man, and fhould convince us that we ought
not to refign our underftandings or confeiences to any man's judgment
whatfoever.
I
CHAP. XXXIX.
The Hiftory of Revelation, and fame Objections to it anfwered,
SHALL confider, firft,
The authority and original of holy Scripture; and then,
Tne ufe and importance of it; it is profitable for doflrine, for reproof,
for correction, for inftruclion in rig '.tcoufnefs. 2 Tim. iii. 16. and fo is
profitable for the nobleft purpofes, the enlightening of our minds, the
purifying of our hearts, the regulating of our practice, and the faving
of our fouls.
As to the authority and original of holy Scripture, it is faid, by a
very good and fufficient judge, that it is given by infpiration ofGd. How
we are to understand being ^'-y^ by infpiration of God, the Apoftle Peter
will inform us, 2 Pet. i. 20, 21. Knowing this, fays he, that no prophecy
of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, fenfe, or impulfe; mean-
ing, that no prophecy did ifTue or proceed from the private fenfe or
thoughts of the writer; it w^s not giving a loofe to his own conceits
and imaginations. For, as it follows, the prophecy came not in old time by
the will of man ; but holy men of God [pake as they were moved by the holy
Ghojl; or by the holy Spirit of God, enlightening their minds, and
directing them what to fay. Thus the Scriptures are infpired, they are
the woid of God ; and what is contained in them, we are to underftand
and reverence, as Jpotcen by God hunfelf. But then, in tne ftri&eft lenfe,
this is 10 be underltood <>nlv of what Prophets, as Prophets, have deli-
vered to us j fu<.h as Mtfes, Samuel. David, Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and the reft.
Vol. I. M No
J go Objealons agalnji Ch. XXXIX.
No prophecy of Scripture did proceed from the private fenfe of the wri-
ter, but was dictated by the fpirit of God. But as for the hiftorical
writings, though, doubtlefs, they owe their original to the fpeeial Pro-
vidence of God, yet it is fufficicnt to fuppofe that they were wrote by
men of probity, fully acquainted with the fails which they relate.
This premifed, I fhould now advance a few arguments to eftablifh the
authority and excellency of the Scriptures, that they were indeed given
by infpiratinn of God, or that in them holy men of God fpake as they
were moved by the holy Spirit. But to prepare the way, it is necefTary
I fhould give a general account and hiftory of Revelation j then remove
fome Objections which are levelled againit it, as if it were needlefs, too
partial, or too ineffectual, to be confiftent with the Divine goodnefs;
or as if we were not fufRciently fecure, that we now have in poffeflion
thofe very books entire and perfect, in which Revelation was originally
recorded.
Revelation is that which makes known to us the will and ways of the
molt high God, the Father of the univerfe, the Fountain of all being
and happinefs, upon whom we have a necefTary dependence for life, for
understanding, and knowledge, for well-being, and enjoyment, at all
times and in every refpect; for without him we cannot live, we cannot
breathe, we can have no kind or degree of fenfe and understanding.
This is true. And it is equally true, that the belt and molt beneficent
of Beings, the greateft and the kinder! of all Fathers, could have no
other end or defign in creating mankind, but his own glory, and their
happinefs. The chief end of man muit be to glorify God, and to enjoy
him for ever; for per feci goodnefs cannot be conceived to propofe any-
lower end in making a creature fo noble and excellent. But then it is
certain, both from the holinefs of God, and the nature of an intelligent
rational being, that a character of holinefs and virtue, of obedience,
righteoufnefs, or right conduit, is necefTary, on our part, to our enjoy-
ment of God, or our happinefs in his favour and blefling. It is necefTary
that we love the great Author of our being, that we pay him all due
honour and obedience, that we are dutifully fubmiffive to his will, that
we underftand our dependence upon him, and what we have to expect
from him, that we may be excited to gratitude, and a due improvement
of his benefits.
We cannot love, honour, and obey God, unlefs we know him, and
are acquainted with him; nor can we poffibly have any knowledge or
underftanding, of any kind whatever, but what muft come originally
from God. Therefore, that God, our Father, fhould inftru<5t and teach
his creatures, whom he has made for the higheft and nobleftends, in
thofe things which immediately relate to his glory and their happinefs, is
perfectly confonant to his goodnefs and love. And that Infinite wifdom,
x\\z Lord and Proprietor of all Being, fhould have various ways of ma-
king known himfeif and his wilLto us, is alfo perfectly true. He hath
produced a great variety of creatures with different powers and inftincls
in our world, by them to fhew that he can beftow upon us any kind or
e of being; he hath difplayed his immenfe greatnefs, power, wif-
dom, and goodnefs, in the n umber lefs glorious bodies which, by his
hand, are perpetually rolled about us in the heavens. His continually
providing
fcrt. XXXIX. Revelation anfwereet. ' I Si
providing for our fubfiftence, in a way which is quite out of our power,
plainly demonflrates our abfolute dependence upon him, and obligations
to him. This is the book of nature fpread before al! nations, and le-
gible to every underftanding ; in which every attentive mind may read
the perfections of God, and the main duties which we owe him. But,
to him who made our fenfesand minds, and is always intimate to them,
there mull be many other poffible ways of making known his will to us j
as by an audible voice, a vifion, or iecret impreffions upon our fpirits.
Therefore, to believe that God, at fundry times, and in divers manners,
fpake to the ancient fathers by the Prophets, is believing a thing very
pofiible, reafonable, and fitting.
And it is no improbable fuppofition, that in the e-irlieit ages of the
world, God fhould only communicate his will to pious men, and leave
them to hand it down to others by tradition ; for in thofe days the lon-
gevity of mankind favoured this manner of conveyance. With our
grand parent Adam, Methufelah lived 243 years ; with Mithujdah, Shem
the fon of Noah lived about 97 years ; and with Shem, Jacob the (on of
Ifaac, the fon of Abraham, lived 50 years, as appears from the hiftory of
Genejls. So that no more than three perfons, Methufelah, Shem, and
Jacobs were fuffieient to hand down the knowledge and worfnip of the
true God from Adam to the time when the children of Ifrael went down
into Egypt, that is, through the fpaceof 2238 years. But when the life
of man was reduced to the narrow period of fourfcore years, and the
world on all fides was fallen into various forts of corruption, and idola-
try and ignorance of God generally prevailed among the nation?, tra-
dition evidently ceafed to be a fafe mean of conveyance.
It was then the Divine wifdom judged it a proper time to ered"r. a pe-
culiar kingdom, church, or congregation, in the world ; and for its
illumination gave the knowledge of his will and worihip in writing, by
the hand of his fervant Mofcs ; that by fuch writing, or fcripture, di-
vine truth might more eafily be preferved, be further fpread, and, when
loft, more eafily reftored. This muft be acknowledged a wife and pro-
per expedient. After the time of Mo/es, God was pleafed to give Reve-
lations to the fubfequent Prophets, as occafion required ; till in the ful-
nefs of time, the great Prophet, the Son of God, came into the world,
opened a new difpenfation, and all the treafures of the Divine grace,
which had not before been fo clearly made known to the church and
people of God. And what he and his Apoftles taught is alfo com-
mitted to writing, and completes what we call the Canon of Scrip-
ture.
This is the general account and hiftory of Revelation which I pro-
pofed to give. And we may here obferve, that a v/ritten Revelation and
the church of God are co-exiftent ; that is to fay, at the fame time the
church was brought into the world, the Scriptures were brought into
the church ; and both are fo efientially connected, that take away the
one and you take away the other. Take away the Scriptures, and we
are reduced to the ftate of mere nature ; our charter is deftroyed, and
our polity, as we are God's church and kingdom, is overthrown. We
may indeed, poflibly, pretend, as the Papifts do, that we are, though
deprived of the Scripture, liill a church j yet without the Scriptures, as
M 2 our
182 Objections agahijl Ch. XXXIX.
our rule and foundation, we are not the church of God, but under a
different head, it may be the Pope, or fome other ufurped authority.
But this by the bye.
I fhall now remove fome Objections which may be levelled againft
Revelation in general.
It is pretended To be quite needle/}, nature and reafon being fufficient
to dinSi any jnan in ths plain way of his duty, without any fupernaiurai
ajjijiance. I anfwer It mult be allowed, in general, that nature and
reafon are fufficient to direct any man in the way of his duty, fo far as
God, in his circumftances, expects duty from him ; for God expects
duty from every perfon only in proportion to the light he enjoys, and to
the talents he hath received. But the experience of all mankind fhews
that nature and reafon, by themfelves, will advance but a little way in
the knowledge of Divine things. Gentlemen in a land like ours, where,
in fpite of themselves, their nature and reafon is enlightened and direc-
ted in a confiderable degree by Revelation, may talk of the perfection
and fufficiency of nature and reafon.
If we look into thole nations which are perfect Grangers to Revela-
tion, we fhall find them grofsly ignorant of the being, unity, and per-
fections of God, the difpen fations of his Providence, the proper honour
and worfhip that is due to him, the prayers we may addrefs to his good-
nefs, and the hopes we may entertain of his acceptance. They know
nothing of the pardon of fin, the promifes of God's mercy and ble/Iing,
nor of any thing belonging to the covenant of his love, the prefent pri-
vileges, or future glory of his kingdom. The refurrection from the
dead, the day of judgment, the immortal life, which will be the reward
of piety and virtue, and the death everlafting, which will be the fad lot
of all the impenitentiaily wicked, they are altogether, or in a great mea-
sure, unacquainted with. But all thefe are great principles in religion,
and of great force to purify cur fpirits, ennoble our minds, animate our
hopes, and guard us agadnft the influence of bodily appetites, and the
violence of temptation.
And however others may fare, in a great degree of darknefs and ig-
norance, through the favourable allowance of God, yet furely every
man's reafon will tell him, that fuperior knowledge, and a more exten-
five view of the Divine difpenfations, is absolutely necefTary to a higher
degree of goodnefs, comfort, obedience, and devotednefs to God. What
the poets relate may be true, that fome primitive mortals fubfifted only
upon acorns and water, in dens and caves ; and we know there are fome
parts of the world where the naked inhabitants enjoy very few conve-
niences of life j but fhall we therefore defpife the blelfings of agricul-
ture, and the various accommodations which make life happy and com-
fortable, and fay they are needlefs ? Would any man in England ever
think of turning out naked into the fields and woods, becaufe it is pof-
fible, and may lomewhere in fact be true, that men may live upon wild
fruit and water, without clothes, or any habitation but the dens and
caves of the earth ? Corn and other agreeable food, clothes, and com-
modious habitations, fitted up with proper furniture and utenfils, are ne-
cefTary to our kind and and degree of life in the natural world ; and Ibis
Revelation to a correfponding kind and degree of fpiritual life- The
food,
Ch. XXXIX. Revelation anfwered. 183
food, raiment, and habitations we enjoy, are the gift of God's goodnefs,
and it is our duty to accept and ufe them with thankfulnefs. In like
manner, Revelation is the gift of God, and, asfuch, it ought to be re-
ceived ; and as it gives greater light, we are obliged to attend accord-
ingly to it, becaufe we muft, in the nature of things, be accountable
for it.
I may add upon this head, that however nature and reafon, in their
pure and moft perfect ftate, may be fufficient to direcTt in the way of
duty, yet, when nature is corrupted, and reafon obfeured, or almoft quite
extinguifhed, they are by no means fufficient to reftore and recover
themfelves to the knowledge and obedience of the truth ; becaufe they
themfelves, who fhould be the phyiician to heal themfelves, arefick and
difabled. But it was the primary intention of Revelation to reftore and
preferve the knowledge of God and of his will in a corrupt and dege-
nerate world.
So far therefore I fee no objection againft Revelation, but it may be
both very needful, and a very great bleffing to mankind.
It may be faid If this bleffing was given to all mankind, who all
equally Jiand in need of it ; but whereas it is confined only to a part of man-
kind, while others are left to grope in the dark, how can it be accounted the
gift of Divine goodnefs ? For is not God equally the God, Father, and Sa-
viour of all men ? How then can it be confjhnt with his beneficence to con-
fine the light of Revelation to fine, zvhich would fo much contribute to the
happpinefs of all ? May we not then conclude, that a partial Revelation is no
Revelation from God, nor worthy of our regard?
I anfwer It is very certain that God is the Saviour of all men,
that he is good to all, and that his tender mercies are over all his works.
But while we are fure of this, we are not equally fure that our reafon
is a perfect rule for adjuring the diftribution of his benefits : on the
other hand, we may be fure that it is not. From the loweft to the
higheft degree of exiftence, from a grain of fand to the moft glorious
Angel in heaven, every higher degree of being is an inconteftable proof
that God may very juftly, according to his own wifdom and good plea-
fure, beftow what gifts, endowments, privileges, and advantages upon
his creatures he fees fit. He is debtor to none. Our underftanding is
no meafure of his wifdom, neither are his difpenfations to becenfured
by our narrow and imperfect judgments. And methinks, we may as
well make it an objection againft the goodnefs of Divine Providence,
that all men are not rich alike, wife alike, or knowing and learned
alike.
Would you not think him a very foolifh man, who fhould be difpleafed
that God has made him rich, and placed him in eafy circumftances,
becaufe there are many about him in a poor low condition? Who re-
fufes wealth, or objects agai nft plenty, becaufe his neighbours are pinch-
ed, and make but a hard fhift to get a living? Or who can be fo ab-
furd, as to reckon his fuperior knowledge and learning to be no valu-
able advantage, becaufe there are numbers of illiterate perfons, who are
much below him in underftanding ? or that the poffeffion of reafon is
no bleffing, becaufe there are fo many idiots to be found among man-
kind? Or can you fuppofe there are any of the angelic body, or of thofe
M 3 fpirits
184 Objections againft Ch. XXXIX.
fpirits who excel us in all endowments and happinefs, who defpife their
own bleflings and heavenly felicity, as no gifts of the Divine bounty,
becaufe we tn this earth are not fet upon a level with them? And is
it notas foolifh and abfurb to deny Revelation, or to argue againft it,
as improperly b.ftowed, and unworthy of the Divine goodnefs, becaufe
indeed it is not communicated to all the world, as well as to ourfclves ?
It is very unnatural to djfpute againft God's goodnefs in any fhape, and
very piefump'uous ro direct him how to beftow it, either as to quantity,
quality, or extent. I* it is fad? hat he has given us any bleffing, our duty
furely is to be thankful, and totnj y and impiove it, whether he has be-
ftowed more or lefs upon our Fellow-creatures ; being certain, where lefs
is civen, lefs will be required ; and that the judge of the whole earth
will, in the laft day, deal with all in perfect equity and goodnefs.
But,
Jf Revelation is fitch a hleffwg, furely it would appear in the fruit or effefls
of it. Whereas great number*, if not the generality of thoje who enjoy Re-
velation, are as bad as the very heathen, who are J/t angers to it. And fuch
evils have bten produced, fuch variance, dijeord, and bloody perjecutions, on
account of revealed religion, that it mt.y jujlly be quejlioned, whether it has
'not done more kr.r?n than good. What reafon then have we to fay, it is a
'ualuable ?ift, or worthy of the Father of the univerfe ?
To this I reply That natural caufes, by a fort of neceffity, produce
their proper effects ; fo fire always burns combtifhble matter, and a good
medicine h^als a difeafe ; and that is no fire which will not burn pro-
per matter, nor that a good medicine which never heals a difeafe. But
moral caufes are of a different nature, becaufe their efficacy depends
upon the choice and difpofition of the fubjec'ts to whom they are applied ;
and therefore a moral means, or caufe, may be in itfelf rnojffi excellent,
though it happens to produce no good effect ; nay, though accidentally
it may prove the occafion of very ban effect. Our Lord's miniftry and
dodrrine was perfectly divine, and yet it had but final! influence for good
upon the Jcwifh nation ; nay, on the other hand, excited their malice
to that degree, that they flew the Prince of Life.
Whatever effedts therefore Revelation may have produced in the
world, frill it is true, that it is a valuable gilt, and worthy of the Di-
vine good n eft. But it muff, ever be remembered, that it is abfoluiely
iicccffary to our receiving any benefit from Gofptl means, that we be
truly defirous to fhake off the yok< ; .' fin, and to cultivate and improve
our minds in virtue and true holinefs. If then-fore we expect there is
any life or power provided in the Gofpel, which will anticipate our own
thoughts and concerns, or that will begin to work upon our minds, and
excite them to thoughtfu'lnefs and care, whilft we ourfelves are thought-
iefs and unconcerned, we mail but deceive ourfelves. For fure I am,
there is nothing in the Gofpel that encourages fuch an expectation : on
the contrary, fuch an expectation is utterly inconfiftcnt with the grand
deiign of revealing the grace and mercy of GoJ ; which is, to awaken
our confcienccs, and to excite us to care and diligence in our fpiritual
concerns.
The notion I have juft now mentioned, manifestly tends to lull us
■•:. p ih fecurity and indolence; and encourages to go on in the con-
tempt
Ch. XXXIX. Revelation anfivered. . 185
tempt of God and our own falvation ; or in any of the paths of folly
and fin, upon a prefumption that we can never turn out, till we are
constrained by fome uncertain, unaccountable a6t of Almighty power.
True indeed, our own thoughts, dt-fires, and endeavours, will effect but
little, without the help of Divine power : but yet, if we choofe to live
in ignorance, unbelief, or any branch of impiety and wickednefs ; if
our hearts are fo attached to the world, fo engrofled by bufinefs, fenfuaj
pleafures and amufements, that we can fpare no ferious reflections for
God, our fouls, and a future world ; I cannot fee how we fhould be
faved by any grace which the Gofpel has provided in Jefus Chriif.
It is certain, the Gofpel hath produced many good effects, and will
always do fo, where it is received and attended to. For as for thofe
pretended Chriftians who make it the occafion of variance, hatred, and
perfecution, we cannot, with any juftice or propriety, fay, that they
do receive or attend to Revelation; nay, it is very certain that in fa<5t
they do not. Nor muft we allow, that in Popifh countries, where cor-
ruption of manners greatly prevails, and fuperftition, idolatry, and per-
fecution are eftablifhed, they enjoy the benefit of Revelation, when we
know, that for many ages the ufe of the Scriptures hath been forbidden,
and a religion taught and profelTed, which is quite foreign to the word,
of God.
But how can we he Jure, that we have now in poffcffion, thofe very books,
entire and per feci, in which Revelation zvas originally recorded ? May they
not in length of time be loft, or quite altered from what they were at firfl ?
or fo varied and changed by tranferibers and tranflators, that we can never
be fur e that we have the true and genuine fenfe of Scripture ?
1 anfwer No nation in the world can be more fure of any of their
public acls and record?, preferved in their archives with the utmoft
care, than we are of the truth of the Scriptures now in our hands. The
Jews preferved the book of Mofes, as the laws of their kingdom, in
the moil: facred part of the tabernacle and temple ; thofe books, the
Pfalms and Prophets, were every where publicly read in their fyna-
gogues, every week, on the fabbath-day; their learued men, with the
utmoft exaclnefs and fcrupuloiity, infpeited and guarded the text, even
fo far as to count the very number of letters in every book. In fhort,
our Lord and the Apoftles frequently quote Mofes, the Pfalms, and
Prophets, without any intimation that thofe books were in any refpect
altered or depraved. Whereas, had they indeed been corrupted, we need
not doubt but our bleffed Saviour would have reformed that as well
as, or rather, more than any other infta.nce of corruption among the
Jews. <
From our Lord's time, the Scriptures of the Old Teftament were
publicly read by the Jews in all parts of the world ; and thofe Scriptures,
and the Apoftolic writings, as they came out, were read by Chriftians
every where in their aflemblies, and difperfed over all the world, where
the religion of Jefus was profelTed, as containing the laws and rules of
the religion he taught : infomuch that it was impoflible to corrupt or
deprave them. And for that reafon, even the church of Rome, or
thofe who ere&ed that Antichriftian power, never durft attempt to make
the leaft alteration in the Scriptures, as knowing it would be to no pur-
M 4 pofc i
3 86 Objeftlom againft, &c. Ch. XXXIX.
pofe; but inftead of that, they claimed the fole right of interpreting
the Scriptures, which ferved their ends full as well as corrupting them.
For he who hath power to put what fenfe he pleafcs upon a law, may as
effectually make it void, as he who deftroys it.
And as for tranferibers, or tranflators, it is for the fame reafon im-
poffible they fhouid make any material alterations. And it is in facl:
true, that they have not ; for you may take any tranflation, in any
lano-ua^e, or by any party among Chriftians, Papifts as well as Protec-
tants, and vou will had they all agree in all things relating to the cove-
nant of the Lord our God, and the feveral duties to which we are there-
by obliged, though they may differ in fome things, and Commentators
may put their own fenfe upon others. But the main things, I am well
fatisfud, have been preferved pure and entire in every tranflation, from
the beginning to this day.
Thus the Objections againft Revelation in general, which are all that
I have heard of, are removed, I hope to fatisfaction. Upon the whole,
they feem to me to proceed not from a fober mind, fincereiy defirous of
the belt knowledge and inftruction ; for how can one allow him to be a
true fcholar, or fmcerely defirous of improving in ufeful learning, who,
roeetin* with a book excellently adapted to that purpofe, rtfufes to make
ufe of it, becaufe he is already poflefled of the faculty of" reafon, or be-
caufe it is not in the hands cf every body, or becaufe fome have made
a bad ufe of it, or iecaufe he doubts whether it may not have under-
gone fome alterations ; when the book, in itfelf confidered, is an ex-
cellent performance, and capable of giving him the moft profitable in-
ftrudticn ?
The Bible, as we now have it in our hands, thanks be to God, is by
far the moft excellent book in our language ; and, as we have it in our
tranflation, is in itfelf, fetting afide all circumftances, a pure and plen-
tiful fountain of Divine knowledge, giving a true, clear, and full ac-
count of the Divine difpenfations, and particularly of the Gofptl of our
falvation. So that whoever ftudies the Bible, the Englifh Bible, is fure
of gaining the knowledge and faith which, if duly applied to the heart
and converfation, will infallibly guide him to eternal life. For which
reafon it is our wifdom and duty, to be much in reading and meditating
upon the Bible, that our minds being well furnifhed with heavenly wif-
dom, and our hearts tinctured with a Divine Spirit, we may be prepared
for glory, honour, and immortality.
CHAP. XL.
Ch. XL. The Authority and Excellency , fcrV. 187
CHAP. XL.
That the Scriptures are given by Inspiration of God, appears from the
exprefs and frequent Jjfertions of Mofes, the Prophets and Apoflles.
I HAVE already given a general account and hiftory of revelation ;
and have {hewn that it is perfedtly confonant to the goodnefs and
love of God, to the relation in which we {land in to him, and the
high and glorious purpofes for which he has given us our being; and
that he committed revelation to writing at a very proper time, when
the fhortnefs of human life, and the general corruption of the world,
rendered tradition no longer a fafe mean of conveyance; and when
the kingdom or peculiar congregation he had erected, required a {land-
ing light for the prefervation of divine truth.
I have iikewife endeavoured to remove fome objections againfl revela-
tion in genera!.
On this head I would beg leave to repeat, that never were any books
more publicly and commonly known, being read and heard with the
greatefl reverence once every week, in both J.wijh and Chrijlian affem-
blies, for a very long trail of time, the Old TeftamenT before the coming
of our Lord, and the Old and New after his coming, to this very day.
So that it is, in the nature of things, impoflible that the holy Scriptures
fhould be adulterated ; nor could any man, who had a mind to alter or
corrupt them, promife himfelf fuccefs in an attempt which mufl imme-
diately be detected, and confounded, by thoufands of copies every where
difperfed, and conflantly read before numerous aflemblies, in the various
languages of even more nations than ever compofed the Roman empire
in its largeft extent.
Tranfcribers may indeed make literal miflakes, but thofe are eafily
corrected by a variety of uanufcripts ; and tranflators may differ in
giving the literal fenfe of fome words and phrafes, but not fo as to render
the main fubjecls and fubftance of the Scriptures either obfeure or uncer-
tain. For you may take any tranflations in any language, or done by
any party among Chriftians, and you will find they all agree in all things
relating to the covenant of the Lord our God, the {late of things in a
future world, and the feveral duties to which we are obliged, though
they may not render the letter of the text in the fame words, nor with
the fame propriety of expreffion. The more perfect and exact in all
things any tranflation is, the better it is ; but I am very fure, that all
things pertaining to the difpenfations of God, his grace and promifes,
and our hopes and duty, have been preferved pure and entire in every
tranflation, from the beginning to this day. And this is abundantly
enough for our inflruction, comfort, direction, and edification.
Gentlemen in foreign bufinefs, who do not underfland foreign lan-
guages, are obliged to carry it on by the help of tranflations ; and if
a letter in ltal'-an, German, Spani/h, or French, was put in the hands of
twenty tranflators, there are great odds but every tranflation would
3 differ,
1 88 The Authority and Excellency Ch. XL;
differ, more or lefs, in fome expreflions. The fame words or phrafes
would hardly be rendered in the fame manner by every one of the tranf-
lators ; and yet they might all agree with refpecl: to the fenfe of the mer-
chant : and that being all this correfpondent wants to underftand, he
will never think, it worth his while to enter into minute particulars, or a
critical propriety of phrafes, which have nothing to do with hisbuiinefs.
Juft fo it is with reference to the tranflation of the Bible. In above the
fpace of an hundred years, learning may have received confiderable im-
provements, and by that means fome inaccuracies may be found in a
tranflation more than a hundred years old. But you may reft fully fa-
tisfied, that as our Englifh tranflation is, in itfelf, by far the moft
excellent book in our language, fo it is a pure and plentiful fountain of
Divine knowledge, giving a true, clear, and full account of the Divine
difpenfations, and particularly of the Gofpel of our falvation ; infomuch
that whoever ftudies the Bible, the Englifh Bible, is fure of gaining that
knowledge and faith which, if duly applied to the heart and converfa-
tion, will infallibly guide him to eternal life.
[But you may fay, how then comes it to pafs, that learned men differ
fo much about the fenfe of Scripture ? I anfwer — They differ not
fo much about the literal (enk, or tranflation of Scripture, as about the
conftruction which they put upon the literal fenfe. For example, all
are agreed that thofe words, lake, cat, this is my body, which is broken
for you, are rightly and well tranflated ; but the queftion is, what is the
meaning of them ? The Papift will tell you, they mean, that the bread
in the Lord's-fupper is really turned into the body, foul, and divinity
of Chrift; the Proteftant very juftly denieth the monftrous and idola-
trous abfurdity, and affirms, that the bread is only a figurative reprefen-
tation of Chrift's facrificed body. Tranflators are generally pretty well
agreed, but divines differ very much about the fenfe of Scripture, which
may afterwards be confidered.]
Thus, by demonstrating the reafonablenefs and expediency of revela-
tion in genera], by removing objections agairift it, and by {hewing the
fufHciency of the tranflation, which, thanks to God, is in all our hands,
the way is prepared —
To advance a few arguments to eftablifh the authority and excellency
of the Scriptures; that they were indeed given by Infpiration of God,
or that, in them, holy men of God fpake as they were moved by the
holy Spirit.
We have fufficient reafon to believe that we have in our hands the
very books that were written by Mofes, by the Prophets, and by the
Apoftles of Chrift. Now, that thofe books were given by Infpiration
of God, or that the perfons who wrote them have delivered to us what
they received from heaven, will appear —
From their own exprefs and frequent affertions. Mcfes and the Pro-
phets always declare they fpake in the name of the Lord, and delivered
to the people what they received in commiffion from him ; the Apoftles
likewife allure us, that they were taught by Jefus Chrift, the Son of
God, were endued with the Spirit of God, and commiflioned by him
to preach the Gofpel to all nations, And we have all the reafon in the
world to believe they have told us the truth ; for, if they have not,'they
roult
Ch. XL. of the Scriptures. 189
muft be very bad, dcfigning men, who folemnly and publicly fathered
upon God, conftitutions, laws, doctrines, and declarations which they
knew very well were falfe and fictitious, the creatures of their own in-
vention, obtruded upon the world to ferve fome felfifn, finifier purpofes.
But, for any thing we can fee, they appear to be perfons of the highefl
character for honour and probity, in the whole of their condutt we find
the utmoft integrity and difintereftednefs, and in every part of their hif-
tory and writings the utmoil fimplicity and impartiality.
We may carry this argument further, and fet it in a ftill frronger light
in the cafe of the Prophets. For if, when they declared they (pake in
in the name of God, and by a commiffion from him, they declared a falfe-
hood, they muft certainly know that it was a falsehood j and if they knew
it was a falfehood, they were not only very wicked, but even void of
common fenfe! For the Prophets, in a long feries one after another,
got nothing by fpeaking in the name of the Lord, but fcorn and con-
tempt from the generality of their countrymen. When they entered
upon the ungrateful office, they renounced all worldly views, and
\vc,re harrafleu and perfecuted in proportion to their fidelity in executing
it.
Now this is too much by far for any pious fraud to bear, even in
the cafe of .a fingle perfon, much more in a feries of fucceffion of men
in feveral generations. An impofror, like Mahomet, may carry his pre-
tences very high, but he can never bear the furnace of perfecution :
that terrible lcourge will either filence his falfe and arrogant claims, or
force him to take up arm?, if it is in his power, for his own vindication
and fecurity. But the Prophets were naked men, who, without the lead
dependence upon worldly power or policy, oppoied nothing but a divine
commiffion to very unkind and fevere uiage. Now there is nothing to
be found in human nature, or in any fuppofable ftate of things, that
can poffibly account for this conduit, but either that really they had a
divine commiffion, or elfe that they were difordered in their heads, and
had loft their fenfes. But their writings prove they were men of good
fenfe, and of a found and excellent judgment ; therefore, nothing re-
mains but that they really acted by a divine commiffion.
The force of this argument will be feen even ftill more evidently in
the cafe of the JpoJIUs. No hiftory in the world has been better pre-
ferved han that of the New Teftament. There we find that Jefus
Chnft had gathered, while he was upon earth, fome hundreds of Dif-
ciples, v/ho all of them made profeffion of faith in him immediately after
his death, declaring that he was rifen from the dead, and afcended into
heaven. Particularly, the Apoftles, with feveral others, went about
preaching the Gofpel, firft in Judea, then in all parts of the Roman em-
pire, periuading men to believe in Chrift, affirming that he was the Son
of God, that all the wonderful things related of him were true, and
that they had a commiffion from Heaven to teach, fpread, and propagate
his religion every where, though they knew they mould every where meet
with the moft violent oppofition, and the crueleff. treatment. Now,
they mutt either be fully convinced in their own minds that their afier-
tiens were true ; or, if they knew that the Gofpel, and their commif-
fion to preach it, was a forgery, we mufi conclude they were diftra&ed,
and
190 *[he Authority and Excellency Ch. XL.
and had loft the ufe of understanding and reafon. For fuppofing our
bleflVd Lord never did or faid any of thofe things which the Apoftles
repeated, and that they had no inftrucfions or commiffion from him to
preach the Gofpel, then we muft fuppofe they entered into a foolifh
and frantic confederacy after this manner : —
li Men and Brethren, what that fed ucer was, who lived among us
" the other day, and how juftly he fuffered death for his vile impofture,
if we, of all men living, have moft reafon to know ; and though others,
" who were lefs intimately acquainted with him, and his ways of
** deceiving, might have fome opinion of his worth and honefty, yet we,
" who were the daily companions of his converfation, faw nothing in.
'* him anfwerable to the greatnefs of his pretenfions, but that his defign
** was, by all the boldeft arts of craft and hypocrify, to get a name in
*' the world : and therefore let us enter into the moft folemn agreement
" to propagate the belief of this notorious cheat among mankind, and
*< to feign all manner of lies in its confirmation ; to aver that we faw
*' him reftcre eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, and life to the dead ;
" and though it be all falfe, vet let us confidently report and affert it to
" the very laft drop of our blood.
44 And becaufe, after all his great and glorious pretences of being no
*< lefs than the Son of God, he was at laft executed as a vile malcfac-
" tor, with all the circumftjnees of fhame and difhonour, we muft
ct agree among ourfelves upon fome ftory to wipe off this difgrace. Let
." us therefore refolve to affirm, with undaunted fteadinefs, that after
f* he was thus difhonourably crucified, the third day he rofe again ;
*' often converfed with us, in the fame familiar way as he had always
M done before his execution ; and that, after a while, we faw him
** afcend up into heaven. But then, we muft be fure to ftand unalter-
*' ably to this bold falfehood, and perfevere to death itfelf in the afier-
" tion. For what abfurdity is there in throwing away our lives, with
<c no other profpecl: than that of final perdition ? And why fhould any
" man think it hard to fuffer ftripes, bonds, imprifonments, reproaches,
'* diflionour, and death itfelf, with this view only ?"
This, or fomething like it, muft be the fenfc and refolution of the
Apoftles and firft p-cachers of the Gofpel, upon fuppofition they knew
and believed that the Gofpel, and their commiffion to preach it, was a
forgery. In this cafe, a fet of men in private and low life, without any
manner of worldly power or intereft ; in the certain profpecl: of all
manner of oppofition, of facrificing all that is dear and valuable in life,
of fuffering all manner of indignities, tribulations, and cruelties, and
of expofing themfelves to all the terrors of death ; muft agree together
to propagate throughout the whole world a fyftem of falfehood, knowing
it to be fuch, directly coutrary to their own confeiences, and to all their
interefts both in this and a future world.
None but a company of madmen, feized with the moft extravagant
frenzy, and void of all fenfe and reafon, could poflibly join in fuch a
defign. Whereas, if we perufe their writings, we fhall find that the
Apoftles were men of the fineft fenfe ; not only in full pofitffion of un-
derftanding, but endowed with knowledge and wifdom in a degree far
beyond the moft eminent philofophers, or mafters of reafon, that ever
had
Ch. XL. cf the Scriptures. 19 1
had been in the world. They had a furprifing acquaintance with God
and the perfections of his nature; they let the difpe.nl at ions of his wif-
dom, and the grand defigns of his love, in the cleareft and molt amiable
light ; they well underftood the whole fyftem of morality, and fixeJ every
branch of it upon its proper foundation : upon principles either felf-
evident or allowed, they demonstrate and eftablifh the whole fcheme of
the Gofpel. The Apoltles were fo far from being void of common
fenfe, that they were, in fact, men of the beft fenfe, of the moft accu-
rate and fublime knowledge, of the moft excellent and divine fpirit,
next to their Lord and Mallei, that the world ever was acquainted with.
Therefore their efpoufing and ailerting the Gofpel with fo much zeal
could not proceed from any diforder in their heads.
There remains then but one other caufe to which it can poflibly be
affigned, and it is this, that they were fully perfuaded of the truth of
what they reported. And if they v/ere fully perfuaded of the truth of what
they reported, then it follows, that what they reported was certainly
true. They were fully fatisfied that it was true, and they were per-
fectly capable of receiving the cleareft evidence, and fulleft fatisfaction ;
for obferve, what they reported was not a matter of mere opinion,
as in the cafe of [uperjiition, nor a warm fuggeftion or f_cret impulfe
upon their minds, as in the cafe of enthufiajm, but bare fimple matter
of fact. We cannot, fay they, but fpeak the things which ice have feen
and heard. Acts iv. 20. They were things, not which they conceited, or
fancied, but which all of them, which great multitudes of all forts of
people, had often and openly, for the fpace of three or four years
together, feen with their eyes, and heard with their ears. And that
they were not miftaken, or deceived, they were fo fully fatisfied, that
they ventured all they had in the world, and life itfelf, upon the truth
of what they had heard and feen. Conkquently, their affurance mult
be in the higheft and fulleft degree of fatisfaction, leaving no room for
doubt or uncertainty.
However fome nowadays may cavil and object, it is certain the
Apoltles, who were the familiar companions of our Lord, had not the
leaft fcruple or difficulty about any thing related in the Gofpel. They
were perfectly fatisfied they law Chrift upon earth ; that they converfed
with him; that they heard the gracious words which proceeded from his
mouth ; that they faw him work ail his miracles; that they faw him
crucified and dead ; that they faw him alive again within a few days ;
that they heard him give then a commiflion to preach the Gofpel to all
nations, and promife them fuccefs ; that they actually faw him afcend up
into heaven ; that the Holy Gholt actually fell upon them on the day of
Pentecoft; and that by his influences they actually felt themfeives
endowed with new and miraculous powers, which accompanied them
during the courfe of their miniftry. And, to their being fully per-
fuaded of the truth of thefe things, and to no other pofiibie caufe, can
we affign their fteady and zealous endeavours topublifh and fpread the
Gofpel every where.
Add to all this, that the Apoltles were furprifingly fuccefsful in preach-
ing the Gofpel. Thefe men in private and low life, thefe defencelefs
men, quite deititute of all temporal power and intereft, only by the force
of
192 The Authority and Excellency, fcrV. Ch. XL;
of truth, the truth of the Gofpel which they preached, and the power
which they received from their Matter, after he was gone to heaven,
encountered the fury of the multitude, the moft inveterate prejudices of
the whole world, the zeal of fuperftition, the hatred of the Jews, the
contempt of the Greeks, the power of the Remans, the pride of the phi-
lofophers, and the policy otjlatefmcn ; all thefe difficulties they encoun-
tered, and furmounted them all. The doclxine they taught, like the
fun, enlightened the whole world, in a manner, all at once ; and infinite
multitudes of people, both from city and villages, were, by the Apoftles
preaching, brought into the church, like corn into a granary.
All this, taken together, amounts to a fufficient proof, that the
Apoftles are to be credited when they affirm, that they received their
inftrucYions and commiffion from the Son of God ; and upon the foot of
this argument alone, 1 am, for my own part, as fully convinced that
the Apoftles were infpired by the Spirit of God, and that they have in
their writings infallibly delivered the truth, in all things pertaining to
the Chriftian faith and doctrine, as I am of any mathematical proportion,
or that twice two is equal to four. The proof indeed is of a different
kind, but fully convincing 3nd fatisfa&ory.
And if our Lord came from God to teach us the truth, and if his
Apoftles received from him their inftruclions, commiffion, and the holy
Spirit, then it follows, that the books of Mojes, and of the Prophets,
are undoubtedly the word of God, and that the facred hiftory may be
depended upon as a true account of things ; for thofe books are not only
aflerted by our Lord, and his Apoftles in general, to be the word of
God, given by Divine infpiration, and a true rule of knowledge, faith,
and doctrine, but particular pafiages are frequently produced in proof or
confirmation of the doctrine they taught; and almoft every fingle part
of the hiftory, from the beginning to the end, as of Adam, Enoch, Noah,
the Deiuge, Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham, the Ifraehtcs, and their mi-
raculous deliverance from Egypt and fettlement in the land of Canaan,
and all the furprifing events in their ftory, are referred to as true and
authentic.
What Jefus Chrift and his Apoftles have reported and taught in the
books of the New Teftament, is certainly the truth, as they received it
from God. And if fo, then the Scriptures of the Old Teftament are
alfo given by infpiration of God, a ftorehoufe of facred and religious
knowledge, of undoubted credit and veracity; for our Lord and his
Apoftles have reprefented and eftablifhed them as fuch.
Thus the frequent and exprefs affertions of Mofes, the Prophets,
and the sip-flies, taken in connexion with their proper circumftan-
ces, is a proof of the truth of revelation as it Hands in the Scrip-
tures.
Let me recommend it to your fcrious confederation, that we certainly
have in our hands an ineftimable treafure, a revelation from heaven, a
fure word of prophefy, (tuning as a light in a dark place ; a magazine
of the moft excellent knowledge, clearly difplaying the Divine nature
and perfections, opening fully thedifpenfationsof his wifdom and good-
nefs from the beginning of the world, {hewing the riches of hi^ grace
and love to mankind ; delivering the moft excellent preceptscf wifdom,
truth,
Ch. XLI. The Harmony and Agreement, &t. 193
truth, and holinefs, for the purifying our heart?, and directing our
converfation ; and propofing the nobleft motives to engage us to, and
encourage us in, the practice of all virtue and goodnefs. We cannot
over-value this bleffing, neither can we defpife it without great guilt.
We are accountable to God for the ufe we make of it. Let us elteem
it in proportion to its worth, and ftudy it as the rule of our life, as the
grand fource of our comfort and hope, and as an infallible guide to
eternal glory.
CHAP; XLT,
The Divi e Original and Authority of the Scriptures, proved from tit
Harmony and Agreement of the fever al Writers of them,
HAVING gone through the firft argument, I proceed To prove
the Divine Original and Authority of the Scriptures; which
we may do from the Harmony and Agreement of the feveral Writers of
them.
They are not a book compiled by a fingle author, nor by many hands
a£ting in confederacy in the fame age ; in which cafe there would be no
difficulty in compofing a confiftent fcheme, nor would it be any wonder
to find the feveral parts in a juft and clofe connexion : but the Scriptures
were done by feveral hands, in very different conditions of life, from the
throne and fceptre down to the lowed degree, and in very diitant ages,
through the long fpace of about 1500 years, when the world muft have
put on a quite new face, and men muft have different interefts to purfue ;
which naturally would have led a fpirit of impofture to have varied its
fchemes, and to have adapted them to different (rations in the world,
and to the different turns and changes in every age.
David wrote about 400 years after Mofes, and Ifaiah about 250 after
David, and Matthav more than 700 years after Ifaiah ; and yet thefe
authors, with all the other Prophets and Apoftles, write in perfect Har-
mony, confirming the Authority of their prcdeceflbrs, labouring to
reduce the people to the obfervance of their inftru&ions, and Joudly
exclaiming againft the neglect and contempt of them, and denouncing
the fevereft judgments upon fuch as continued difobedient.
This was the principal work of the Prophets in a long fucceflion.
And it is well known our Lord came not to deftroy the Law and the
Prophets, but to fulfil, /. e. to vindicate and illustrate their meaning, to
complete what was imperfed, and to anfwer the higheft ends of what
was typical and figurative. Now, this is a very ftrong proof that the
Scriptures were throughout dictated by one and the lame fpirit, which
could be no other then the Spirit of God, and of truth. It is allowed,
as in the cafe of Mahometifm^ that an impofture, or religious fraud, may
be
194 ^;e Harmony and Agreement of Ch. XLl.
be handed down from one age to another, but not by fcveral different
perfons, all making equal pretentions to a Divine authority and commif-
iion. For in this cafe they are to be considered, not as a fucceflion of
teachers, deriving their doctrine from one common original, but as
iingle and diftinct impoftors ; and confequently, every one in a diffant
age, and in a quite different ftate of things, would let up for himfelf,
and feek a fingular glory by building upon a diftinct and leparate foun-
dation from others. It would fignify little to an impoftor, who has no
other intention but to advance his own honour and renown, to pretend
a commiflion from heaven, only to give reputation to another deceiver,
by confirming what he has already eftablifhed.
Therefore, as the Writers of the holy Scriptures, though they all
claim a Divine Authority, yet write in perfect connexion and Har-
mony, mutually confirming the doctrine and teftimony of each other, and
concurring to eftablifh the very fame religious truths and principle?, it is
a ftrong proof that they all derive their inftrucbons from the fame foun-
tain, the wildom of God, and were indeed under the direction and
illumination of his Spirit.
We may take another argument from ourfelvcs, as we make profellion
of faith in Jefus Ckrift, For our profeflion of Chriftianity, who dwell
in the uttermoft parts of the earth, is a proof that the Gofpel 1 pre ad
itlelf over all the Roman empire ; for, from Jerufalem, it came to us by
a gradual progrefs, and, advancing from one country to another, arrived
at length in thefe iflands of Great-Britain and Ireland. Nobody can
doubt or deny that the Chriltian faith is, and for many ages paft has
been, embraced in all thofe numerous and diftant lands which once
compofed the Roman empire, and even in countries far beyond the
utmoft bounds thereof. In all thefe fpacious traits the Chriltian faith,
in one form or other, has been profefled ; and baptifm and the Lord's-
jupper, in one form or other, have been adminiftered, in a fucceifion of
ages, quite up to the times of the Apoftles and our Lord.
It is moft certain that baptifm and the Lord's-lupper, thofe fummaries
of the whole Gofpel, were not inftituted in any following age, by any
one party of Chiiftians, but have been handed down to us, and to all
parties among Chnftians, from the very mouth and institution of Jefus
Wjriji. No fad can be more evident than this. From our Lord there-
fore, and his Apoftles, the Gofpel fpread over the greateft part of the
known world, which before the publication of the Gofpel was univer-
sally involved in idolatry, eftabiifhed by long cuftom and human laws,
ftrongly guaranteed by all the power and learning of the world, by all
thezeJ of the wildui fuperftition, by all the violence and obftinacy of
prejudice, by all the blindnefs of profound ignorance, and all the incor-
rigible peryerfenefs of corrupt and diffolute manners : a complication
of caufes which would for ever have bid defiance to any philofophy or
wifdom of the few that can be fuppofed to attain a better fenfe in the
midft of univerfal daqfenefs and depravity. But the Gofpel gained a
moft complete and txtenfive victory over all thefe, demolifhed every idol
in the heathen world, and every where ereifted the trophies of a con-
quering fefui.
Now this furprifing change, which is notorious to all mankind, muft
be
Ch. XLT. the f acred Writers. 195
be effected either by human power and policy, or by a divine and fuper-
rhKural influence. By human power and policy great revolutions have
been brought about in all ages and parts of the world ; and therefore
we do not wonder at the fpread of the Mahometan or Turkijh religion,
as it was propagated by the fword, under the conduct of a mighty
warrior and politician, who by ravages, bloodfhed, and defolations,
conquered many nations and kingdoms, laid the foundation of a potent
and fpacious empire, and thus by violence opened a way for the reception
and extenfive profeflion of his newly-devifed religion. But the religion
of Jejui was triumphant, not only without the aid of human power or
policy, but even in direct oppofition to it.
For the plain fad is this. A poor young man, about 30 years of age,
called J*fw, a carpenter's fon, of no education or learning, without
houfe or habitation, without the leaft human intereft or influence, be-
gins to preach up reformation among the Jews, the moft fufpicious and
bigoted people in the world ; declares himfelf the Son of God ; gathers
a tew Difciples, perfons in the fame low and naked condition with him-
felf, fifhermen, publicans, and fuch like, and fends them about preaching
what he called the Gofpel of the kingdom of God. He was defpifed
by the generality, and greatly oppofed and harrafled by the men of
power and learning. However, he fhifted for himfelf as well as he could ;
but, after he had preached three or four years, they caught him and cru-
cified him as an infamous malefactor.
This direful event, which would have totally ruined an impoftor, he
plainly forefaw and foretold ; but, not in the leaft difcouraged by the
profpect, he ordered his Difciples to go and preach his Gofpel over all
the world, promifing that after his death he would aflifl them with power
from heaven, in virtue of which they fhould certainly fucceed. They
believed him, they fet out, they preached up their crucified Mafter as
the Lord and Saviour of all mankind ; and, which is very trrangc,
under the conduct and influence of a mailer who was dead to this world,
and gone to the other ftate, they prevailed ; and in fpite of the fury of
the multitude, the moft inveterate prejudices of the whoie world, the
zeal of fuperftition, the hatred of the Jezvs, the contempt of the Greeks^
the power of the Romans, the pride of phi/ofophcrs, and the policy o|
Jiatefmen, their dodirinc, like the fun, almoft at once, enlightened the
world, overthrew the whole fyftem of Pagan idolatry and religion, and
advanced as far as our own country in the darkeft and remoteft coiner of
the earth.
Of this we ourfelve?, we Chriftians, are living monuments and proofs :
we have received the Gofpel, we own it a glorious and .fhining light ;
we have renounced the idolatry and vain converfation of our fathers; we
acknowledge and worfhip the living and true God ; we confefs and adore
the crucified Jefus, our king and head, and hope for eternal life through
him. Now, there is no poffible way of accounting for this, but by
allowing that Jejus really was the Son of God, %at he really rofe again
from the dead, and afcended up into heaven, and that he actually from
thence fent his Dhciples the aids and powers which he had promifed, and
which were fo far above all that is human, that they carried their own
Vol. I. N evident
196 The Harmony and Agreement cf Ch. XLI:
evidence along with them, and rendered their doctrine fo furprifingly
fuccefsful.
And as Jefus did not fend his Difciples to preach to all the world, till
after his 'death, and as he then, after his death, did actually furnifh them
with all miraculous powers to render their doctrine effectual, this is
the molt conceiving proof that his doctrine was divine, and that he him-
felf was actually gone to heaven, and lived theie in the higheft intcrcft
and favour with God. For that an impoftor, a deceiver, hateful to the God
of truth, mould, after his death, be able to animate, inftruct, autho-
rize, and empower a company of men, otherwife deititute of all afhft-
ance, and labouring under all poffible difficulties, to throw down all the
religions of the world, and to erect a new one in their ftead, is utterly
impoffible. It is therefore certain, b.yond all doubt, that Jefus Chriji
was fent from heaven to reveal the Gofpel to the world. And as v/e are
very fure that we have in our hands the writings of his Apoftles, we
may be as fure, that they contain a revelation from heaven, or that doc-
trine which Chriji received from God and delivered to his Difciples.
And if i'o, then the writings of the Old Teftament are alfo the word of
God, for Chriji and his Apoftles declare them to be fuch. Therefore
all Scripture is given by infpiration of God.
The fame thing may be proved by the long train of miraculous ope-
rations which could be effected only by a Divine power, and which
were wrought in confirmation of the miffion of Prophets and Apoftles ;
as alfo from the fpirit of prophefy predicting future events at a great
ice of time, which no human wildom or fagacity could poflibly
forefee, and yet were actually and punctually fulfilled in correlpondence
to the prediction. But as a minute detail of particulars would perhaps
be fomewhat tedious, I mall fmgle out one inftance of the Divine mira-
culous power, and the truth of the prophetic fpirit ; which inftance has
been in all ages a ftanding proof of revelation, and which ftill exifts,
and is before the eyes of the prefent generation, in almoftail countries
of the world 5 I mean, the prefent ftate and being of the Jews. For
this people, as they were originally chofen to be the repofitory or ftore-
houle of Divine knowledge, by the revelation which was given to them,
fo they were alio intended to be vifible proofs of the truth of it in all
ages and parts of the world. Our Lord, contrary to all human proba-
bility, while he was on the earth, foietold the deftruction of the jewifh
temple and polity, and their difperfion among all nations, whfch was
o'actly accoinplifhed in about 40 years after. And in this difperfed ftate
they have now continued about 1700 years, in great numbers, and in
great ignominy and contempt, and yet quite diftinct and ieparate from
all the people among whom they lived.
This appears to me a ftanding miracle ; nor can we attribute it to
any other caufe but the will and extraordinary interpofuion of heaven,
when it is confidered, that of all the famous nations of the world who
: have been diftmguimed from others with great advantage, and
the mofl lilufhious marks of honour and renown, as the ancient Egyptians,
iam, Perfims, Macedonians, Romans, who all in their turns held
the empire of the world, and were, with great ambition, the lords of
mankind -s
Ch. XLI. the f acred Writers. 1 97
mankind; yet thefe, even in their own countries, are diflolved into the
bulk of mankind, nor is there a perfon upon earth can boair. he is de-
fended from thole renowned and imperial anceftors.
Whereas a fmall nation, generally defpifed and hated, and which,
though now upon piettv good terms with us, both Pagans and pretended
Chrijiians have for many ages treated with the utmoft infult, indig-
nity, outrage and cruelty, and which therefore, one would imagine,
every foul that belonged to it fhould have gladly difowned, and have
been willing to have loft the odious name by mixing with any other
nation; yet, I- fay, this hated people, harrafted and butchered more or
lefs by all mankind, banifhed and bandied from one country to another,
and who fcarce had any peace till trade and traffic brought the world to
a better temper, and more favourable treatment of them — I fay, this
hated people have, under all temptations to the contrary, and a gain ft:
the ordinary courfe of things, continued in a body di/lincl and feparats
from all mankind, even in a ftate of difperfion, for about 1700 years.
This demonstrates, that the wifdom which formed them into a pecu-
liar people, that they have almoft ever fince the deluge, for about 3600
years, remained in a diftincl and feparate ftate, and are ftill likely to do
10, is not human, but Divine ; for no human wifdom or power could
form, or however could execute, fuch a vaft, extenfive defign. It muft
be the wifdom and power of that God alone, who is the fame in every
age, and who in every age has exercifed a peculiar providence over his
peculiar people, the defcendents df Abraham his fervant. And thus the
prefent ftate and being of the Jevjs is every where a public and ftanding
evidence of the truth of revelation, in two refpedls.
1. With refpect to their long difperfion, or captivity, as they call
it, and the various calamities they were to fuffer therein.
This is foretold in feveral places, particularly, Deut. xxviii. 63, 64,
65. The Lord will rejoice over yen to dejlroy you, and bring you to nought,
as to their fingular privileges and enjoyments ; and ye Jhall be plucked off
from the laid, whither ye go to poff'efs it. And the Lord Jhall fatter thee
among all people, from one end of the earth even unto the other ar.d among
thnfe nations thou /halt find no eafe, neither Jlo all the fole of thy foot have reft ;
hut the Lord Jhall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing eya, and
forrow of ' mind. Ezek. xxxvi. 19. / fatter ed them among the heathen, and
they were difperfed among the countries. I will fatter thee among the heathen,
and dfperfe thee among the countries. And our Lord predicts, Luke xxi.
li. And they, the Jews, fioall fall by the edge of the /word, and floall be
led away captive into all nations, and Jerufalctn ftjali be trodden down of the
Gentiles.
2. -With refpecSt to their being preferved in their difperfion, and pre-
ferved as a diltindt and feparate body, this alfo was plainly predicted.
Deut. xxvi. 44. Yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies,
I will not cajl them azvay, neither will I abhor them, to defi'oy them utterly,
and to break my covenant with them. J-r. xxx. IO, II. Fear not, O my fer-
vant, Jacob ; neither be difmayed, O If ael ; for lo, 1 wiilfave thee from afa',
and thy feed from the land cf their captivity ; for though 1 make a full end of
all nations, whither I have fatter ed thee, yet will I not make a full end of
N 2 thee,
198 The Harmony and Agreement of, &fr. Ch. XLI*
thee. Jer. xxxi. 10. Hear the word of the Lord, O y rations, and declare
it in the ifes afar off; and fay, he that fcattered Ifrael will gather him, and
keep him, as a fhepherd doth his foci. Ver. 35, 36, 37. 7 1: us faith the Lord,
who gives the fun for a light by day, and the ordinances cf the moon and of the
Jlars for a light hy night ; who divides the fea when the wuvcs thereof roar ;
the Lord of Hojis is his name. If thofe ordinances depart from before ?ne,
faith the Lord, then the feed of Ifrael alfo fhall ceafe from being a nation before
me for ever. Thus faith the Lord, If heaven above can be mea lured, and the
foundations of the earth fearched out beneath, I will alfo cafl off all the feed of
Ifrael, for all tl>at they have done, faith the Lord. Rom. xi. 25, 26. Blind~
nefs in part is happened to Ifrael, umtil the fulnefs of the Gentiles be come in',
^nd fall Ifrael fhall be faved ; as it is written, there fhall come out of Si on
the Deliverer, and ft ball turn aivay ungodli nefs from Jacob.
Thefe, and many more paflages, too numerous to be now quoted,
plainly fhew that it was the defign of Divine Providence to preferve the
Jewifh nation, in their difperfion, and to preferve them a diftinct and
feparate people in order to their future reftoration. And we, and many
other nations, at this day, fee thefe predictions made good in the pre-
sent ftate of the Jews, who have been fo long, and ftill are miraculoufly
preferved feparate from all other people. Now this is, in my opinion,
a ftanding miracle, a wonderful work of Divine Providence, and as
ftrong a proof of revelation, as if we were to fee the dead, every year,
rife out of their graves in confirmation of it. For we have ftill among
us, after fo long a time, and fo many various revolutions in human
affairs, the peculiar people whom God, above three thoufand years ago,
Separated unto him (elf \ the very people who are the principal fubject of
revelation, and who are (aid thereto be the .principal objects of his
providence; and we fee them at this day to be fo in a very furprifing
manner.
Therefore in their prefent ftate we may plainly read the ancient pro-
mife made to Abraham, the head and root of the nation, the many won-
derful works wrought for them from firft to lafr, and the truth of pro-
phetic predictions ; in the prefent ftate of the Jews we may read the
truth of the Gofpel, for the rejection of which God rejected them, and
fcattered them over the face of the earth. Jn fhort, we are fure there
was fuch a people as the Jews, to whom God delivered the revelation
of his will in ancient times ; for this very people exift among us at this
day, and preferve among them that very revelation, with the moft facred
and religious care. And we are fure the numerous predictions of Scrip-
ture, both in the Old and New Teftament, relating to their future ftate,
are true, for we fee them made good in the prefent ftate of the Jews :
and therefore we may be as fure that the holy Scriptures are given by
jnfpiration of God ; for only the Spirit of God could foretel fuch events j
and the fame Spirit which foretold thefe events, fpake in the Prophets
and Apoft)es,and infpirtd them with all that Divine wifdom and know-
ledge which we find in all their writings.
I might add the long apoftacy, and general corruption of the profef-
fors of Chriitianity, fo plainly foretold, and under fuch exprefs and par-
ticular characters, in the Apoftolic writings. This, all the world may
fee, has been abundantly fulfilled in the church of Rome. Now, only
the
Ch. XLIL The interval Worth, &>.• I99
the Spirit of God could forefee fuch a diftant and deplorable ftate of
things, which no human probability could have conjectured would have
rifen out of the pure and heavenly doctrine ofChrift. But the Spirit
which predicted this event, is the very fame which was poured out upon
the Apoftles, and enlightened their minds with the knowledge of the
Gofpel ; therefore the Apoftles, who wrote the New Teftament, had
the Spirit of God, and were enlightened by it.
By thefe arguments I am pointing out to you the only fountain of life
and happinefs, a mine infinitely more valuable than of gold and precious
ftones, a plentiful magazine of heavenly and everlafting wealth, an
inexhauftible fund of folid comfort and peace, the holy Scriptures, the
word of the ever-bleffed God ; a treafure of immenfe value, which
we have in our pofleflion, if we are wife to make a right improvement
of it.
There remains yet another argument to prove the Divine Authority
and Original of Scripture, taken from the internal excellency of ik
This I fhall confider in the following chapter.
CHAP. XLII.
*Tbe internal Worth and Excellency of Scriptures confdered, as con"
tabling the bfjl Principles of Knowledge, Holinefs, and Comfort.
THE arguments which I have already advanced, are taken from
the external evidence that the Scriptures are the word of God.
Proceed we now to confider their internal Worth and Excellency, which
more fully and directly demonstrates their Divine original, and falls in
with the fecond part of my defign, which was to confider the ufe and
importance of the holy Scriptures.
Confidering the Scriptures as a gift and blefling from God, the Fa-
ther of lights and the Fountain of all good, for our improvement ia
knowledge and holinefs, in order to our being advanced to eternal glory
and happinefs, we may in general conclude, that the Scriptures are in
worth and ufefulnefs fully proportionable to the wifdom and goodnefs of
the Donor, and to the noble and beneficent end for which they are in-
tended. They area glorious difplay of heavenly light, irradiating the
darknefs of the world, which otherwife would have been involved in the
blackeft night of ignorance. Let it be obferved, to the honour of the
Bible, that it is the book which, under the Divine Providence, has pre-
ferved in the world the knowledge of the one true God, which otherwife
mufl have been loft and extinguifhed. For when God in his infinite
wifdom was pleafed to call Abraham^ and fcparate his family to the
purpofes of revelation, idolatry, even in thofe early day?, not long after
N 3 the
200 The internal Worth and Ch. XLII.
the flood, was fo far fpread, that even Abraham % family were idolaters,
and ferved other gods ; and fo far did the corruption of religion pre-
vail, that ail nations, lofing the true idea of one God and Father of all,
fell into the fouleft idolatry, the grofleif. fuperflition, and all the abomi-
nable vices in connexion with them, except the nation of the Jews,
who enjoyed the word and revelation of God. And it was the word and
revelation of God, at the time our Saviour came into the world, which
enlightened the Gentiles, and fo generally reduced them to the worfhip
and obedience of the everlafting Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the
earth.
What knowledge of the living God, what deteftation of idol-wor-
fhip, what belief of a future itate of rewards and punifhment, Maho-
met has propagated in the world, he received paitly from Jews, and
partly from Chi/nans, who had learnt thole things from revelation ;
though, as he could not read himfelf, with much confufion, and a large
mixture of fiction and falfehood. Is any part of the Chriftian world funic
into fuperiViuon and idolatry? It is becaufe they have fhut up the
Scriptures, forbidden the free ufe of them, and commanded the people
under pain of damnation to follow other guides. Is any part of the
Chriflian world reformed from the grofs errors and monfrrous corrup-
tions of Popery ? It is becaufe they have aliened the authority of the
Scriptures, refumed the ufe of them, and opened them again to free and
common perufal. Nay further — Is the Deiff, or the man who in a Chrif-
tian land denies or difparages revelation, acquainted with the firft: caufe,
the Fountain of all being, power, life, and happinefs, the univerfal So-
vereign ? Has he a clear idea of the fyftem of duties which we owe to
our Maker, and to one another ; or any expectation of a future ftate of
felicity? It is becaufe he has lighted his twinkling candle at this re-
fplendent Sun, which he unnaturally, ungratefully, and weakly endea-
vours to extinguifh. I fay iveakly, becaule this Sun, which God, ever
fince the creation of his church and kingdom, has caufed to fhine in
the moral world, fhall by his Providence be preferved, and fhine
with a growing luftre, fo long as the fun in the firmament ihall
endure.
Under God, it mufl be owned the inftrumental caufe of all the true
religion and piety that is to be found in the world, which, for aught
we can fee, notwithstanding all the philofophy and wifdom of man,
would have been totally loll: among all the nations; and it fhall be efta-
blifhed more and more, it fhall fhine forth more and more, it fhall be
honoured more and more, in the truth of its doctrines, in the wifdom
of its precepts and instructions, in the accomplifhment of its predic-
tions and promifes, and in the appearing of our Lord at the laft day,
to receive into his joy all that know God, and obey his Gofpel. it
fhall be efrablifhed, it fhall fhine, it fhall be honoured, when thofe
who now defpife and difparage it, fhall be confounded and perifh for
ever.
Thus much may be truly faid of the ufefu!nefs of Scripture in gene-
ral ; which gives it infinitely the preference to all books of mere human
compofure, that it has been the means of prcferving in the world the
',/r.ind principles of region, the knowledge of the being and perfections
of
Ch. XLTI. Excellency of the Scriptures, 201
of God, and of that true fpiritual worfhip which alone plcafcs him,
and ennobles, purifies, and comforts our fouls. And ju ft in proportion
as the Bible is received, efteemed, and diligently itudted, true religion
has prevailed, and will always prevail and flourifh. On the other hand,
in proportion as the Scriptures are unknown, neglected, abufed, and
perverted, ignorance, idolatry, irreligion, error, fuperftition, and
wickednefs, have and will fpread their gloom, and more or lei's infect
nations and particular perfons.
The Scriptures contain principles which muft be allowed to be of a
fuperior and moft excellent kind ;• the befl principles of knowledge,
holinefs, and comfort.
In the Scriptures we find the beft principles of knowledge. There
the mind expatiates in a boundlefs field of heavenly light, and clearly
views the profpeds of truth, where the eye of mere nature could never
have penetrated. There you fee the being of God ailerted, his nature
and perfections, his glorious Majefty and univerfal Sovereignty, defcribed
with the jufteft propriety of fentiment, and magnificence of language.
There you read cs That the everlafting God, the Lord, the Pof-
'* feflbr of all being, of all wifdom and power, made the earth and
" created man upon it ; that he ftretched out the heavens, and com-
" manded all their hofts. He meafured the waters in the hollow of his
" hand, and meted out the heavens with a fpan, and comprehended the
*' duff, of the earth in a meafure, and weighed the mountains in fcales,
" and the hills in a balance. He toucheth the mountains, and they
" fmoke; he looks upon the earth, and it trembleth. Behold, the nations
" are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the fmall duft of the
w earth. Behold, he takes up the ifles as a very little thing. All na-
" tions are before him as nothing, and they are counted to him as lefs
** than nothing and vanity.
" The whole univerfe refts wholly upon his arm, and is entirely fubje<£t
*' to the difpofals of his will/ Lift up your eyes on high, and behold,
** who has created thefe things, that brings out their hoft by number?
" He calls them all by name ; by the greatnefs of his might, for that
" he is ftrong in power, not one of them finis ; in understanding he
" is infinite ; heis mighty in wifdom, wonderful in counfel, and ex-
** cellent in working. He fills heaven and earth ; nor can any hide
" himfelf in fecret places from his all-penetrating eye. The earth is
<l full of his glory and riches; and his providence ft perpetually exefcifed
" about all and every one of his creatures. All power belongs to him ;
" he can help and caft down, he can iave and deffroy ; and nothing is '
*' too hard for the Lord. Godislove; the Lord is good, and doth good ;
** he is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works ; he
** is daily loading us with benefits. The righteous he will blefs, to
i( them he will give grace and glory; and even to the wicked the Lord
** is plenteous and rich in mercy. He is a God of truth, and Without
" iniquity ; juft and right is he. He is glorious in holinefs, and of purer
li eyes than to behold evil ; neither can he look on iniquity. And this
" God, fo great, fo glorious, is our God, our Maker, Owner, and
" Ruler, our Father, Shepherd, and Friend."
This is the doctrine of Scripture ; and a fentence or two in this holy
N 4 book
502 The internal Worth and Ch. XLTI.
book: will give you much clearer conceptions of God than all the vo-
lumes of" philofophy, wrote by ftrangers to revelation. There you are
taught the various difpenfations of the Divine wifdom and goodnefs,
from the beginning of the world to this day, and even to the end of
time. There you fee the excellent fchemes which he has formed for the
inftruction, reformation, and happinefs of the children of men j and
we read with pleafure the numerous inflances of his favour to the righ-
teous, and with dread the terrors of his vengeance upon the wicked.
There we find a twofold covenant; of works, which threatens death to
every tranfgreffion ; of grace, which grants the benefit of repentance
and pardon, and promifes all needful fupplies of ftrength to the fincerc
and upright. There we learn how he erected a kingdom among the
nations, or a peculiar congregation, to prevent the univerfal corruption
of the world, and, like a beacon upon a hill, to diffufe the light of
Divine knowledge in the darknefs of the earth. At length we fee the
Mcfiuh, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, appear, to take
away fin, to bring in everlafring righteoufnefs, or falvation, to illuftrate
the grace of God, and give the plaineft explications of his will and our
duty ; to fhew the future world'in the cleareff and moll awful view, and
to appoint the mod powerful means to attract our hearts to God, and to
guide our feet into the ways of peace.
In his Gofpel we fee the dead, fmall and great, reftored to life, and
appearing before his judgment-feat, to receive a fentence according to
what they have done in the body. There he has opened the glories of
heaven to our fight, and fhewn to our faith the far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, the allured confequence of patient continuance
in well-doing ; he has alio uncovered the bottomlefs pit, the blacknefs
of darknefs for ever, which will be the terrible portion of all impenitent
workers of iniquity. In the Scriptures the ftate of the church to the
end of the world is defcribed, and we fee the prefent ftate of things cor-
refpondent to prophetic defcriptions.
I fhould exceed my bounds, only to mention the feveral heads of in-
ftruciion and knowledge with which the word of God is crowned. [
(hall mention but one more, and that is, the delign of our prefent being
in this world, which is there reprefented, agreeably to the appearances
of things, and the wifdom and goodnefs of God, to be not for enjoy-
ment, but for trial ; not to gain temporal pleafures or poffeffions, but
to diicip'ine our fouls, and to prepare them for immortal honour and
glory* In particular, the many afflictions incident to our frailty, are
let in a true and encouraging light, as the difcipline and correction of cur
heavenly Father ; not for our deftru&ion, but for our improvement in
holinefs, to purify our fpirits from fenfualitv, to draw our regards to
thngs heavenly and eternal, to exercife our faith, hope, patience, and
virtue, which is our real excellency and beft qualification for ever-
lading happinefs. This is a brief and very imperfect fpeci'men of Scripture
dodfrme; which, even in this curfory view, alTified a little with lober
tion, mufr, to an impartial judgment, moderately acquainted with
what the wifeft of Pagans have taught, appear infinitely fupcrior to the
darknefc and uncertainty of mere human knowledge and wifdom.
iii the Scriptures you will find the belt principles of hilineff% or of that
ftate
Ch. XLII. Excellency of the Scriptures. 203
ftate of mind whereby we arc habitually devoted to God and truth. For
there we are fhewn the dignity and worth of our being, vaftly beyond
any thing we could have hammered out of our own reflections. There
we read that we are made in the image of God, infpired with under-
ftanding, raifed vallly in our faculties above the hearts or the fowls, and
made for ends proportionably grand and noble ; not for the mean pur-
pofes of time and fenfe, but for God, for his honour and favour, to
fhew forth his praife, and for ever enjoy his goodnefs. And every
obligation refulting from this fuperiority of nature, and the higheft and
molt excellent purpofes of our being, is with the greateft propriety and
force urged upon us. In every page of the holy Scriptures the love of
God fmilesupon us with an attractive and endearing afpect, to draw our
affections to him, and to give aconftancy and fteadinefs to our virtue in
the midft of fo many and fo ftrong temptations, when we know that only
fuch an adherence to truth and righteoufnefs will finally and forever give
us an intereft in our heavenly Father's bleffing.
In the Scriptures we have the Divine difpleafureagainft all the ungod-
linefs and un righteoufnefs of men fet upon its true foundation, the
odious and pernicious nature of fin; which is in itfelf falfe and mif-
chievous, the only proper and radical evil in the univerfe, and which
alone can deprive us of happinefs, and fubje£t us to mifery. In the
word of God, his favour to men of piety and virtue is alfo fet upon its
proper foundation, the amiable and excellent nature of true holinefs ;
which in itfelf is true and falutary, the only proper and radical good,
the glory of our nature, and which alone can render us fit to dwell for
ever with God. There we are kindly encouraged by the Divine grace
to think of our ways, and by true repentance to turn from whatever is
finful to the obedience of God. There we are directed frequently to
fcrutinize our hearts, to banifh thence every corrupt principle, and to
keep the fpring of a&ion within us pure from every diforderly thought
and inclination; to guard our fpirits with a watchful eye from every
impure motion and fuggeftion, to be vigilant againft every attack of
temptation, that we may keep ourfelves undefiled in the good ways of
God. There we are inftrucied in the moft perfect and reafonable fo-
briety, temperance, and felf-denia!, and warned of the danger of every
fenfual fnare and allurement. There this perifhing body, with what-
ever can delight and adorn it ; there this prefent world, with whatever
in it can engage our affections and efteem ; are fully expofed to the judg-
ment and cenfures of reafon, and manifeftly fhewn to be c-mptinefs and
vanity, infinitely below the excellence and worth of immortal fpirits,
and therefore infinitely unfit to be purfuvd at the expence of our prefent
integrity, or future felicity.
In the facred writings we find a rich magazine of all proper means
for the fanctincation of our fouls, and our moft fuccefsful advances in
the life of God. There we fee that the Divine Power and Spirit is
ready with its mighty aids to afiift, enlighten, and ftrengthen our fpi-
rits, in proportion to our iincere defires and endeavours in godlinels;
and there we are directed every day, and at all times, to feek unto God,
by fervent and believing prayer, for his guidance and protection, and
arc allured we never (hall feek his face in vain.- There, in the holy
Scriptures,
204 The internal Worth and Ch. XLIU
Scripture?, we are taught the ordinances of religion, both public and
private, in the confcientious ufe of which we fhall grow up into Chnft
Jefus ; particularly, we are commanded to fet apart a competent portion
of our time, every day, and to keep the fabbath holy every week ; that
by ferious meditation upon God's word, and by pouring out our hearts
before him in prayer and thankfgiving, we may renew our fpiritual
ftrength, be more and more confirmed in the habits of holinefs, and
find ourfelves frill advancing nearer to heavenly perfection. This fketch
of the principles of holineis, to be derived from the Scriptures, clearly
proves iheir Divine original and excellence, as it fets them vaftly above
any thing mere human wifdom can difcover or devife.
In the Scriptures we alfo find the beft principles of comfort and re-
freshment to the foul. How needful are fuch principles in a fcene of
affliction, fin, and weaknefs ! In general, under how many amiable cha-
racters, under how many fweet encouragements, are we invited to trufr,
in the Almighty and Eternal; to look unto him, and make his name,
his goodnefs, and power, our refuge in every want, danger, difficulty,
and conflict ! being afiured that he cares for us, while we hope in him,
and that he will never leave us nor forfake us ; that, however he may
permit our fufFerings and griefs, he never can forget us, and will make
all things, how bitter foever, work together for our good. Heaven is
at all times open to our complaints and Amplications, and the throne of
God, which is a throne of grace, iseafy rf accefs to the breathings and
defires of our hearts.
Are we loaded with a fenfe of guilt ? See the blood of Jefus the fe-
curity and feal of our pardon. Are we humbled under a fenfe of our
own unworthinefs ? Hear the voice of Divine grace freely conferring a
dignity upon us far fuperior to all the honours of this world. Look into
the Scriptures ; view the unfearchablc riches of Chriji\ behold the love
of our God and Redeemer; of his own gracious will, and mere good
pleafure, he has begotten us, he is become our Father, he has juftified
ns, he has beftowed upon us the honours of his children, he has made
us welcome to all the bleflings of* his covenant, and to all the glories of
his kingdom. Fearful and dejected Soul, look into the Gofpel, and fee
thy God mining in all the beams of free, rich, and heavenly grace. Be
of good comfort; thy fins are forgiven, thy intercft in the covenant is
fure; the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, is thy God and
Father, and thou art welcome to ail the treafures of his mercy and good-
nefs. Only rejoice in this grace, and live agreeably to it in all faith,
purity and holinefs, love and goodnefs.
Are you afraid your own vveakntfs and furrounding temptations fhould
draw your regards from God, pervert your minds, and caufe you to fall
fhort of falvation ? Fear not, thou worm Jacob, for I am with thee ;
be not difmayed, for I am thy God ; I wiltjirengtl.cn thee; yea, I will
help thee ; y(ay I will uphold th.e with the right-hand cf my rightcoufnefs,
or falvation. Only cleave unto God, by faith in Chrift, with purpofe
of heart, and he who has begun a good work will certainly perfect it
unto the day of Chrift. You fhall be more than conquerors through
him that has loved u-. Doth the world frown, and pour its forrows
into your breafts ? Look to the heavenly world, the glory that fhall be
revealed
Ch. XLII. Excellency of the Scriptures. 205
revealed in the faints. That is your home and country, that is your
portion and inheritance; and if you regard it as fuch, you will rejoice
in the hope of the glory of God, and be raifed far above the cares and
fears of this low and traniitory If ate. Such flrong confolations the holy
Scriptures fupply, and therefore their author is undoubtedly the God of
all confolation ; for no wifdom of man cculd ever poflibly have opened
to us fuch a fountain of joy and refrefhment. And thus we fee the Scrip-
tures contain, beyond all difpute, the beft principles of knowledge, of
holinefs, and comfort.
It is no lefs evident that they deliver the beft precepts for directing nil
our actions. Such precepts are reducible to three head>, our duty to
God, to our neighbour, and to ourfelves. God we 2re taught to wor-
fnip with a fincere admiration of his glory and perfections, with pro-
found reverence of his greatnefs, with humble adoration of his Sove-
reignty, with the higheft love and efteem for his excellency and amiable-
nei's, with joy and gratitude for his goodnefs, and with a heart truly de-
voted to his honour, and determined for his obedience. To our neigh-
bour we are directed to perform not only juftice, truth, and equity, but
al Co unfeigned charity, the moft extenfive kindnefs and benevolence.
To ourfelves we owe felf-prefervation and felf-government ; and the
Scriptures admonifh us to take the wifeft care of our being, by culti-
vating and guarding our minds, and by mortifying all inordinate affec-
tions and paffions. In fhort, all that our reafon can find in the law or
religion of nature, is, without the lead omiffion, tranferibed into reve-
lation ; and moreover, the wifdom of Gcd has not only perfected and
fupplied our deficiencies, but has difcovered to us the riches of goodnefs,
knowledge, and power, infinitely beyond what our natural faculties could
ever have attained.
Thus we are furnifhed both with the moft perfect rules of virtue and
godlinefs, and alfo with the moft powerful motives to the obfervance of
them; and thus the Scriptures are a ftorehoufe of the moft facred and
ufeful knowledge, adapted to the improvement of our minds in whatever
is good or excellent, beyond all competition and objection. But as
thofe only can object againft them, who never read them, or never with
ferious minds, if you would know what the Scriptures are, if you would
know whether they are of God, read them, ftudv them, meditate upon
them, and you cannot fail of being convinced of their excellency and
Divine original.
Such being the intrinfic excellency of the Scriptures, it is no wonder
it entered into our Lord's thoughts, and was the object of his care in his
laft moments, even amidft the pains and agonies of death. Its being
the fubject of his thoughts at a time when his thoughts turned upon no-
thing but what was infinitely momentous, his being concerned upon
the crofs, that no point of Scripture fhould want its full evidence, or
eftablifhmenr, is a demonftration of the high worth and excellency of
Scripture. Under all his preceding fufterings, which muft be exceed-
ing bitter, he never dropt the leaft expreflion of the forrow and anguifh
he felt, but endured it with the filence of the moft perfect meeknefs and
patience. We muft therefore conclude, he would not have opened his
mouth to fignify his grievous diftrefs, when on the crofs, IVhyhajt thou
fcrfaken
206 The interncl Worth, &c Ch. XLIT.
fcrfahen me ? had it not been for the fake of expreffing his truff in God ;
nor would he have mentioned his thirft, but out of regard to divine re-
velation, and its accomplilhment.
Our Lord has, all along, from firft to laft, fhewn the highefr refpect
to the word of God. With this fword he did combat and conquer Sa-
tan, when tempted by him in the wildernefs. He always in the courfe
of his miniftry appeals to it as the ftandard of religious truth, revealing
the will of God, and explaining his difpenfuions. He declares he came
not to deftroy fo much as one tittle of the Law or the Prophets, but to
complete, vindicate, and illuftrate them ; alluring us that as their original
is Divine, their honours fhall be perpetual j and that, till heaven and earth
fafs away, and the whole frame of nature be diflblved, not one jot jball
fafs, or perifh, _/><?« the Law, or from Revelation, ///'/ all be fulfilled*
John v. 39. He directs the Jsws to fearch the Scriptures, as they rightly
apprehended the doctrine of eternal life was contained in them, and
as they teftified of him.
As his fufferings drew nearer, he frequently takes notice of the ful-
filment of the Scriptures in the feveral fteps and events which led to
them. Matt. xxvi. 31, 54. John xiii. 18. xv. 25. That the Scriptures
might be fulfilled in his fufTerings and death, he would not allow his
Diiciples to refcue him out of the hands of thofe who came to feize him.
Matt. xxvi. $3, 54. Had he prayed to the Father, he would have given
him more than twelve/legions of angels ; but how then, fays he, Jhall the
Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it mtift be f And when upon the crofs,
he is not diverted from the lame important fubje<5t, though in the midft
©f the moft exquifite torments, and labouring under a violent drought.
Regard to the Scriptures prevails in his mind, more than the fenfe of the
greatefi pain and anguifh ; and not to relieve his thirft, but that the Scrip-
tures might be fulfilled, he cried out, J thirft.
Thus our crucified Lord has fet the feal of his blood to the Divine
authority, excellency, and certainty of the holy Scriptures. He came
into the world, he laid down his life to accomplifh what was fore-or-
dained, and foretoid in the Scriptures. Now this evidently implies, that
our Lord knew, and was perfuaded, the Scriptures are of Divine ori-
ginal, are the word, and declare to us the mind and will of God; con-
sequently, that they contain difcoveries and inflructions of the higheft
and molt excellent nature ; and that all things they predict muff, and
moft certainly will, be accompl idled. v
It leems but an inconfiderable circumffance, that the Scriptures inti-
mate they would give the Mcfjhh in his thirft vinegar to drink. This
feems to be a facl: of no great moment, nor do we know that it flood in
connexion with any thing of confequence, and yet our Lord would not
overlook it. He took care it fhoulu be pundluall/ fulfilled. How much
more then may we perfuade ourfelves, that all the great promifes, and
all the predictions relating to matters of vaft importance, fhall be ac-
complilhed ? The apparent infignificancy of vinegar being offered to
Chrift on the crofs, adds great force to this argument. If a point, feem-
ingly fo minute, was carefully attended to, and punctually difcharged,
when the Redeemer was in extremity of pain and torture, how much
more, vnow that he is entered into his joy, now that he is polkfied of
the
Ch. XLIII. The Improvement, tsV.' 207
the higheff. felicity and glory, now that he is inverted with the mod ex-
tenfive power and dominion, how much more will he make good all
that God has declared by the ancient Prophets in the Old Teftament,
and all that he himfelf hath foretold and promifed in the New, relating
to things of infinite moment ! Exceeding great and precious promifes
are given us of theDivineprefen.ee, blefiing, and protection, through
this world, which every upright mind may be allured will be fully made
good.
How many magnificent predictions has our Lord, and his Apoftles,
delivered concerning the world that is to come That he will raife us
up again at the laft day. And we (hall certainly be raifed out of our
graves, and reftored to a life quite different from the prefent That
he will come in great power and glory to judge the world. And moft aflu-
redly he will fo come, and we ftull every one of us ftand before his tri-
bunal to give an account of ourfelves To his faithful fervants he has
promifed eternal life : and to all fuch, without fail, he will give eternal
iife. It is frequently foretold, that everla/ling deft ruffian from the pre-
fenceef the Lord will be the dreadful lot of the impenitently wicked, and
doubtlefs everlafting deftruction will be the dreadful lot of fuch. — Moft
clearly he has made known his everlafting kingdom of glory, where his
fincere followers fhall partake of his glory and felicity ; and we may
firmly believe and hope, this will be our happy condition, if we make it
our prefent care to be his fincere followers. Thus has our benevolent
Saviour afforded us, in his laft moments, a moft folid ground of hope
towards God, and directed us abfolutely to depend upon all that the
Scriptures reveal concerning our falvation.
CHAP. XLIII.
Chriftians ought to he thankful for the Scriptures, and maintain a high
Efteem for them.
HAVING, fo far as feems neceffary, confidered the ufe and im-
portance of the holy Scriptures, I would now point out the pro-
perelt improvement of this inter eft ing fubjecl:.
We may evidently fee our obligation to be thankful for the Scrip-
tures ; they are the gift of God, and a great help to our underftanding,
and rational powers, in the beft attainments. And as our natural light
and faculties certainly demand our gratitude and thanks, that God has
made uswifer than the fowls of heaven, and taught us more than the beafts of
the earth 1 and as our joy and praife will be agreeable to our illumination,
when in God's heavenly light we fhall fee glorious and eternal light ; fo
the
208 The Improvement of Ch. XLIII.
the fupcrior inflruclions and difcoveries of revelation do challenge our
fincere thanks to our wife and benevolent Father, who has employed his
fpiric at fundry times, and divers manners, to pour knowledge and light
into the darknefs of the nations, which otherwife would, in effect, have
generally loll the ufe of intelligence ; and that at length he has vifited us
with the day-fpring from on high, a full difplay of his heavenly grace in
the evcrlafting GofpeJ.
Should we not maintain a juft, that is to fay, a very high efteem of
the word of God ? If it is true, that all Scripture is given by infpiration
of God, and is profitable for the nobleft ends, for doclrine, for reproof cor-
rection, injlrutlion in righteoufnefs, then it is true that we cannot let too
high a value upon it. The things of this world, which are very im-
perfect and tranfitory, have, alas, too large a (hare of our hearts j but
the holy Scriptures are a treafury of heavenly and everlafting riches, and
it is but reafonable we fhould give them the preference to what we know
is infinitely inferior in worth. And it is upon this ground that the wifeft
and beft of men have reprefented them as the higheft object of our de-
light and elleem. Pfalm xix. 7 — 10. The laiv of the Lord is perfetf, con-,
verting the foul ; the teftimony cf the Lord is fure, making wife the fmple.
The Jtaiutes of the Lord are right, r>joicing the heart. More to be defrcd
ere they than gold; yea, than much fine gold; fweeter alfo than honey, and
the honey- comb. Pfalm cxix. 96, 97, 1 03. I have feen an end of all per-
feclion ; but thy commandment is exceeding broad. O, how love I thy law f
It is my meditation all the day. How fweet are thy words unto my tofts ; yea,
fweeter than honey to my mouth ! And we may then only call ourlelves
happy, when we have attained the fame fen ti meats and tafte of the good
word of God. Indeed I cannot fee that we ufe it as what it is, or anfwer
our Chriftian profeffion, if we do not treat it with great eftcem and re-
gard. To this purpofe let us
Not allow ourlelves to think of it with indifference, or in any re f peel:
to Teat it irreverently. Tne worth and infinite importance of the thing
will not bear a cool and languid thought ; and it is too facred and divine
to admit of any degree of contempt. It is with fome reckoned a turn
of wit to introduce Scripture phrafe into common converfation, and to
provoke pleafantry by quoting the Bible. What is this but burlefquing
the word of God, and raifing a laugh at the expence of the greater!, bleil-
ing of heaven ? Such a profane levity will by degrees leffen the reve-
rence we owe to Scripture, and deftroy all ferious regard to it ; which is,
in effecl, to deftroy ourfelves ; and therefore fhould not only be carefully
avoided, but with abhorrence detefted.
Guard your minds well againft Deifm on the one hand, and Popery
on the other. Both thefe agree in depreciating the Scriptures. The
Deifr. will perfuade you revelation is unneceflary, and confequentiy that
the Scripture is no revelation from God, but a fallacy and cheat, at firff.
invented, and afterwards fupported, by thofe who find their account in
it. He racks his invention to ftart ary difficulty or objection, to prove
that the Bible is not fulTicient to the purpofesof revelation. And lure,
the Romanirt joins him. They go indeed different ways ; the one, as
he pretends, to the mere religion of nature ; and the other, in reality, to
the authority of the church, and a living infallible guide upon earth. But
both
Ch. XLIII. this important Subjefl. 209
both ftart from the fame point, degrading the holy Scriptures; and I
fear very much, they will meet and unite again in a few generations.
For where Deiftical principles prevail in a family, the rifing generation
mud: grow up in great ignorance of revelation, and the true worfhip of
God, and fo will be expofed to the artifice of the feducer, who lies in
wait to deceive. For however men may refine in their fpeculations, and
put a force upon the mod common and obvious principles in their minds,
yet certainly fuch is the general fenfe of mankind, when left free and
unbiased, with regard to religion, that they ealily admit the belief of fome
fuperior invifible powers, and their intcrcourfe with this world ; and
being ignorant of the truth, are with little difficulty drawn into error.
This makes me apprehend that the prefent fpread of Deifm will, in a
few ages, produce a large increafe of Popery among us. Not to fay,
that Popifli Seminaries, where they cannot directly promote the caufe of
the church of Rome, are allowed and infrructed to do it in this indi-
rect way. For confufion and ignorance of any kind is a proper ground
for them to work upon. But this by the bye. My defign is to guard
you againft thofe who would raife fcruples and prejudices in your minds
aga i n ft revelation^ And without defcending to particulars, you may be
very fure of this one thing, that whoever cavil againft the Scriptures are
ftrangers to them. They object and take upon themfelves to judge in
a matter in which they are no ways qualified to be judges ; in a matter
which they neither underlfand, nor, in their prefent way of thinking,
ever intend to underftand. For, whatever airs fuch may give themfelves,
or what femblance or fhow foever they make of knowledge and wifdom,
thefe men have never ftudied the Scriptures; nor, generally fpeaking,
have they learning or capacity to enter into their deep and abftrufe parts.
Had they ever foberly and fericufly ftudi-d the Scriptures, they muft of
neceffity have found fo many, and fuch evident marks of a Divine Spirit,
fuch glorious difplays of the wifdom, power, and truth of God, as would
have taught them to think more modeftly of what is doubtful and ob-
fcure.
When did you ever hear of any name, illuftrious for learning and wif-
dom, that ever difputed the Divine original and authority of Scripture ?
Did ever a Boyle, a Newton*, or a Locke, queftion the Divine ori-
ginal or truth of Scripture ? * No. Thcfe men, of the moft eminent
attainments
* The famous Selden, one of the moft eminent philofophers, and moft
learned men of his time; who had taken a diligent furvey of antiquity, and
what knowledge was confiderable amongft Je-ws, Heathens, and Cbrijlians,
and read as much, perhaps, as any man ever read ; towards the end of his
days, declared to Arch-Biftiop Ushe r,
" That notwithstanding he had been fo laborious in his enquiries, and
curious in his collections ; and had pofTefled himfelf of a trcafury of books
and manufcripts, upon all ancient fubjects ; yet he cculd reft bis foul en none
fa<ve the Scriptures. And above all, that pafTage gave him the moft fa'tisfac-
tion, Titus ii. 11 — 14. as comprising the nature, end, and r*vvard of true
religion.
" THE grace of Gca, that hringeth fahation, hath appeared to nil men.
" TEACHING
2io The Improvement cf Ch. XLII.
attainments in wifdom and knowledge, held the Scriptures in the higheft
veneration and efteem, as a revelation from God ; and by their excellent
comments have acknowledged the Divine authority even of the moft
abftrufe and difficult parts. No. The cavillers againff. Scripture are
men of an inferior clafs, who want, and are noways folicitous to gain,
the qualifications needful to render them in any degree fit or competent
judges. It is enough for fuch to pick up a fmall collection of fcruples,
to eafe themfelves of the trouble of thought or ftudy, and at the fame
time to give a plaufible appearance of both. But with men of judgment,
fuch muit ftand in a very ridiculous light. To a judicious phyfician,
how filly and contemptible muft a perfon be, who, though no ways
/killed in the fcience, mould take upon him perpetually to cenfure, vi-
lify, and condemn a Boerhave, or a Sydenham, the greateft mafters
in the art of medicine !
Perhaps you may fay — Are there not real difficulties in the Scriptures ?
And will not difficulties naturally and unavoidably produce objections ?
I anfwer — There are difficulties in the Scriptures ; and difficulties are
the
" TEACHING us, that denying ungodlinefs, and worldly lufls , we Jhould live
" foberly, rigbUtufy, and godly , in this pre fent world.
" LOOKING for that blej/ed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great
" God, and our Saviour Je/ut drift.
" Who gave him/elf for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and
tc purify unto himfelf a peculiar people, zealous of good vjor/;s."
Sir Christopher Hatton, a great itatefman, a little before his death,
advifed his relations to be ferious in fearching after the will of God in his holy
word ; for, faid he —
" It is defervedly accounted a piece of excellent knowledge to underftand
" the laws of the land, and thecuftoins cf a man's country ; how much more,
•' to know the ftatutes of heaven, and the laws of eternity, thofe immutable
" and eternal laws of juftice and righteoufnefs ! to know the will and ple3-
" fure of the great Monarch and universal King ! / have feen an end of all
" perfeclion, tut thy commandment is exceeding broad. Whatever other know-
" ledge a man may be endowed withal, could he by a vaft and imperious
'* mind, and a heart as large as the fand upon the fea-ihore, command all
" the knowledge of art and nature, of words and things ; and yet net know
" the Author of his being, and the Prefbrver of his life, his Sovereign and
" his Judge, his fureft Refuge in trouble, his beft Friend or woril Enemy,
" the Support of his life and the Hope of his death, his future Happinefs
" and his Portion for ever ; he doth but go down to hell with a great deal
" of wifdom."
Mr; Locke, alfojuftly eReemed one of the greater! mafters of reafon, and
a philofopher of the greatcii; freedom of thought, at the clofe of his life, thus
advifed an intimate friend.
" Study the holy Scriptures, efpecially the New Teftamcnt ; therein are
•' contained the words of eternal life. It hath God for its author, faivation
" for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter." Poft-
humous Works, p. 344..
And to the fame efted, a wifer ftill in the fame f.tnation, Solomon. To
fear God, and keep his commandments, (in order to which, it is neceffiary that
we read and ltudy them) is the whole of man. For God Jhall bring every voork
into judgment, with every fecret thivg, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
fccclef. xii. 13, 14.
Ch. XLIIL this important Subject, 209
the natural ground of objections, but not of deftroying any truth, other-
wife well eftablifhed. For all fc i en ce whatever is attended with difficul-
ties, and objections may be raifed againft the cleareft and moft demonftra-
ble truths. The being of' God, and his perfections, the creation of the
world, the conftitution of nature, the ways of Providence, and any the
beft and moft ufeful knowledge we can gain, is attended with difficulties,'
and confequently liable to objections. Let it be well obferved, thofe
difficulties arife not from the things themfelves, but from the imperfec-
tion of our minds. In the things themfelves there are no difficulties,
nor any ground for objection ; the difficulties are in the narrownefs of
our underftandings, which find a great difficulty in comprehending many
things relating even to the moft certain and undoubted truths. And,
with regard to the Scriptures, I myfelf have had large experience of
this. Many things which at firft, and for fome time, appeared to me
very obfeure, unaccountable, and inconfiftent, by patient application,
and a clofer attention, have fhone out unclouded info the plaineft and
clearefl: truths. By this I am convinced, that all remaining difficulties
are not (o in. themfelves, but only fo with refpect to the imperfection of
my mind. And upon the whole, you may be very fure, when you hear
any objection advanced againft the Scriptures, that the objection, in truth
and reality, lies againft the objector himfelf, as he either cannot, or
will not, fee the truth as it ftands in the word of God.
But you may fay — Why fhould God put into his word things to us
difficult and obfeure ? I anfwer — To exercife our diligence, and to try
our integrity. I have faid fo much to convince you of the vanity and
folly of Deifm, and to guard you againft any bad impreflions from that
quarter, which may prove of very fatal confequence. A little of this
leaven may do a great deal of harm, as it creates an indifference to Di-
vine knowledge, to the inftructions and counfels of our heavenly Father;
as it takes us off from the ftudy of the Scriptures, robs us of the beft:
guide of our actions, the moft powerful motives to all virtue, the ftrongeft
confolations in every day of affliction ; and at laft expofes to the righ-
teous judgment of God, for the neglect and contempt of the beft of
bleflings he ever beftow^d upon the world.
We have the ftrongeft reafon to be fully fatisfied of the fufficiency of
Scripture, as perfectly able to make us wife unto falvation. The Papift:
will own the Scriptures to be the word of God, and a true rule of faith,
but not a fufficient rule. The only fufficient rule of faith he will tell
you, is the church of Rome, which infallibly underftands and propounds
what the Chriftian world is to believe and do, in order to eternal falva-
tion ; and therefore you ought implicitly to fubmit your underftanding
and confeience to her direction and decifions; and doing fo, you have
no need to confult the Scriptures, being already provided with a living
infallible guide. But if the Scriptures are a true rule of faith, then are
they a fufficient rule to all forts and degrees of perfons, for they exprefsly
affirm their own fufficiency in this extenfive fenfe.
That nothing but Scripture is a fufficient ground to biiild our faith and
practice upon, as Chriftians, will clearly appear to any confiderate per-
fon. All befides is uncertainty and confufion. You have Popes aga.nft
Popes, councils againft councils, fathers againft fathers, the church of
Vol, I, O one
212 The Improvement <?/, fcfr. Ch XLIlT.
that which is good ; to try every fpirit, and to bring every do&rine to
thetcft of God's pure and holy word. And thus we are at liberty to re-
view the ground upon which we ftand, to correct any error, and to im-
prove our minds in the knowledge and" love of the truth.
In thefe and feveral other refpedts, the fufficieney of Scripture to
guide us in the way of life and falvation, is evidently feen, and how fool ifh
and unfafe it is to forfake this heavenly guide, and follow the delufions
of the church of Rome. But then, the greater the evidence that Scrip-
ture is a perfect guide to eternal lite, the greater muft our obligations be
to ufe it faithfully as fuch.
Let us be much in reading the Scriptures, and think and judge freely.
By judging freely, I do not mean rafhly and at random; we muft
judge of the Scriptures with all poffible care and caution ; but iudgc
freely, without regard to the authority of any perfon, party, or church
whatfocver. We are made by our gracious Creator for the knowledge of
the truth ; not to be the dupes of cuftom or authority, not blindly to
follow the dictates, decrees, and constitutions of weak and ambitious
men ; but to employ our minds generoufly in the fearch and knowledge
of the truth. Christianity calls us co the nobleft exercife of our under-
standing ; and we loie the benefit of it, if we do not think ferioully, and
judge freely.
There is no other way of having our minds eftablifhed, and well fea-
foned with the principles of our religion. In this way we fhall fee the
glory and excellency of the holy Scriptures ; thus we fhall feel the power
of God's word upon our hearts ; thus our understandings will gradually
be enlightened with Divine knowledge, and, to our unfpeakable com-
fort, grow up into Jefus Chrift, and gain the happinefs of the man who,
forfaking all impiety, and every fa'.fe way, delights himfelf in the law of
the Lord, and daily meditates therein. Such a one is under the fpecial
bleffing of heaven, and, like a tree planted in a fruitful foil, mall grow
and flouriih, and rife infinitely higher than all the honours, wealth, and
enjoyments of this world ; he fhall rife to immortality, and there find
all the glorious fruits of a life of piety, and the full accomplishment of
the magnificent promifes which here on earth he with pleafure perufed
in the word of God.
This is what I have to offer on this important. fubjcct. Whatever the
refult may be, with regard to others, this one point is fu/ficiently fecund
— I have Satisfied my conftience by di (charging what I etteem an incum-
bent duty : and 1 have done it in the faithful nefs and integiityof my
heart, according to the wifdom God has given me.
APPENDIX.
Ch. XXXIV,
Prophets before the Captivity*
213
N D I
X.
Chronological Dates for Chapters xxxiv. xxxv. and xxxvi.
CHAP. XXXIV.
Prophets before the Captivity,
£IAH king ofl
h \
II. king of If- ]
Years
before
Chrift.
812 A MAZIAH kins of
jt\ Judah
Jeroboam
rael
800 Uzziah king of Judah 7
Jeroboam II. 3
800 Jeroboam II. king of Ifrael 7
Uzziah king of Judah J
800 Jeroboam II. Uzziah
772 Menahem I.
770 Menahem II.
759 Uzziah 52. Pekah 1.
753 Jotham 5. Pekah 7.
742 Ahaz I. Pekah 18.
In the fame year
In the fame year
740 Ahaz 3. Pekah 20.
In the fame year
739 APhaz 4-
726 Hezekiah 2.
In the fame year
725 Hezekiah 3. Hofhea 6.
720 Hezekiah 7.
715 Hezekiah 13.
714 Hezekiah 14.
714 Hezekiah 14.
In the fame year
In the fame vear
713 Hezekiah 15.
In the fame year
710 Hezekiah 18.
03
Jonah fent with a mefTage. 2 Kings
xiii. 20. xiv. 25.
Joel i. ii. iii.
Amos i— — ix.
Hofea i. ii. iii.
Hofea iv.
Jonah i. ii. iii. iv.
Ifaiah vi. ii. iii. iv. v.
Micah i. ii.
Ifaiah vii.
Ifaiah viii. ix. x.
Ifaiah xvii.
Ifaiah i.
Ifaiah xxviii.
Hofea v. vi.
Ifaiah xiv. ver. 28, &c.
Ifaiah XV. xvi.
C Hofea vii — xiv.
1 Micah iii. iv. v. vi. vii.
Nahum i. ii. iii.
Ifaiah xxiii — xxvii.
Ifaiah xxxviii. xxxix.
Ifaiah xxix. xxx — xxxv.
Ifaiah xxii. ver. 1 15.
Ifaiah xxi.
Ifaiah xx.
Ifaiah xviii. xix.
Ifaiah x. ver. 5, &c. xi. xii. xiii.
xiv. ver. 28, £2V.
In
214
Years
before
Chrift.
In the fame year
I n the fame year
698 Manafieh 1.
628 Jofiah 13.
623 Jofiah 18.
611 Jofiah 31,
Prophets he/ore the Captivity.
Ch. XXXIV.
610 Jehoiakim 1.
In the fame year
606 Jehoiakim 4.
in the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
605 Jehoiakim 5.
603 Jehoiakim 7.
599 Zedekiah i-
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
598 Zedekiah 2.
In the fame year
In the fame year
596 Zedekiah 4.
In the fame year
595Zcdekiah5.Jehoiachin'scapt.5.
594Zedckiah b. Jehoiachin's capt.6.
593Zedekiah 7. Jehoiachin's capt.7.
In the fame year, fifth month
591 Zedekiah 9. Jehoiachin'scapt.g.
In the fame .year
In the fame year
In the fame year
590 Zedekiah 10. Jehoiachin's
capt. 10.
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
In the fame year
Ifaiah xxxvi. xxxvii.
Ifaiah xl — xliii, &c.
Ifaiah xxii. ver. 15.
Jeremiah i. ii.
Jeremiah xi. ver. I — 18.
Jeremiah iii — x. xii — xxi.
Jeremiah xi. ver. 18, &c.
Habakkuk i. ii. iii. Zephani
ii. iii.
Jeremiah xxii. ver. 1 24.
Jeremiah xxvi.
Jeremiah xxv.
Jeremiah xxxv.
Jeremiah xlvi.
Jeremiah xxxvi. ver. 1 — 9.
Jeremiah xlv.
Daniel i.
Jeremiah xxxvi. ver. 9, &c.
Daniel ii.
Jeremiah xxii. ver. 24, C5V.
Jeremiah xxiii.
Jeremiah xiii. ver. 13, &c.
Jeremiah xxiv.
Jeremiah xlix. ver. 34, &c.
Jeremiah xxix.
Jeremiah xxx. xxxi.
Jeremiah xxvii.
Jeremiah xxviii.
Jeremiah 1. Ii.
Ezekiel i — vii.
Ezekiel viii xi.
Ezekiel xii xix.
Ezekiel xx xxiii.
Jeremiah xxi. xxxiv. ver. 1-
Jeremiah xlvii.
Jeremiah xl viii. xlix. ver. 1
Ezekiel xxiv. xxv.
Jeremiah xxxvii. ver. 1 —
ahi.
Jeremiah xxxiv. ver. 8, &c
Jeremiah xxxvii. ver. 11 —
Jeremiah xxxii. xxiii.
Ezekiel xxix. ver. 1 — 17. xxx
Jeremiah xxxvii. ver. 17, CSV.
Jeremiah xxxviii. ver. 1
-34-
-11.
16.
14.
xxxix. ver.
15, &,
Jeremiah xxxviii. ver. 14, 6sV.
519 Zedekiah
Ch. XXXV: Prophets after the Deftrualony &f*.
ai*
Years
before
Chrifr.
589 Zedekiah II. Jehoiachin's
capt. 11. firft month
In the fame year, third month
In the fame year,fourth month
In the fame year, fifth or fixth
month
In the fame vear
Ezekiel xxxvi. xxxvii. xxxviii.
Ezekiel xxxi.
Jeremiah xxxix. ver. 1 II. lii.
ver. 1 30.
Jeremiah xxxix. ver. 1 1 15. xl.
ver. 1 7.
Jeremiah xl. ver. 7. xli. xlii. xliii.
xliv. ver. 1 8.
CHAP. XXXV.
Prophets after the Deftruflion of the Temple, during //^Captivity.
Years
before
Chrift.
588 TEHOIACHIN's captivity
J 12. tenth month
In the fameyear,twe!fth month
Between the 12 and 25 capti-
vity
In the fame year
In the fame year
In this year Nebuchadnezzar
fet up his golden image
754 Jehoiachin's captivity 25.
569 Jehoiachin's captivity 30.
In the fame year
562 Jehoiachin's captivity 37.
555 BJfhazzar 1.
55;
Belfh;
539 Belfhazzar 17.
538 Darius the Mede 1.
In the fame year
536 Cyrus 1.
535 Cyrus 2.
Ezekiel xxxiii.
Ezekiel xxxii.
Ezekiel xxxiv. xxxvi.
xxxviii. xxxix.
Obadiah
Ezekiel xxxv.
Daniel iii.
Ezekiel xl. xli. efV.
Ezekiel xxxi. ver. 17, &V.
Daniel iv.
Jeremiah lii. ver. 31, &c.
Daniel vii.
Daniel viii.
Daniel v.
Daniel vi.
Daniel ix.
Ezra i. ii.
Ezra iii.
0
CHAP. XXXVI.
2l6
Prophets after the Captivity &c>
Cm. XXXVX,
CHAP,
XXXVI.
Prophets after the Captivity, under the fecond Temple.
Years
before
Chrift.
535 |p«YRUS 2.
\^A ^ the third year of Cy-
rus, and thud after the cap-
tivity
520 DariusHyftafpes2.fixth,month
In the fame year and month
In the fame year, feventh month
In the fame year, eighth month
In the fame vear, ninth month
In the fameyear,eleventhmonth
516 Darius 3,
518 DariitS4.
Jn the fame year, ninth month
Subfequent to ttvj fourth year
of Darius Hyitafpes
515 Darius 6.
462 Ahafuerus 3,
461 Ahafuerus 4.
458 Ahafuerus 7.
In the fame year
457 Ahafuerus 8.
453 Ahafuerus 12.
445 Ahafuerus 20.
433 Ahafuerus 32.
429 Ahafuerus 36.
428 Ahafuerus 37.
296 Ptolemy Soter 9,
Daniel x. xi. xii.
Haggai i.ver. 1 12.
Haggai i. ver. 12, l3~c. Ezra v.
Haggai ii. ver. 1 10.
Zechariah i. ver. 1 7.
Haggai ii. ver. 10, &c.
Zechariah i. ver. 7, &c. ii— — vi*
Ezra v. ver. 3, C5Y.
Ezra vi. ver. 1 15.
Zechariah vii. viii.
Zechariah ix — xiv.
Ezra vi. ver. 15, &JV. .
Either i.
Either ii. ver. I — 16.
Ezra vii — x.
Either ii. ver. 16—21.
Efther ii. ver. 21, £sV.
Efther iii. iv. v, &c.
Nchemiah i — iii. &e.
Nehemiah xiii. ver. 6.
Malachi i — iv.
Nehemiah xiii. ver. 6, &c.
The Canon of the Old Teftament
completed, by adding two books
of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah,
Efther, and Malachi ; by SiWuN
the juft.
T H E
THE
PREFACE.
ONE may divide men into two general clafTes. Some are without
any knowledge of a Deity, or fenfe of Religion : travellers tell us,
that in the Weft-Indies, the eaftern parts of Tartary, and fome places of
Africa, fuch people are to be found. I know this is a fa£t which is
difputed by others ; and Fabricius, a divine of the Palatinate, pretends
that he has folidly confuted it. If this fail fhould be thought doubtful,
yet it is known at leaft, that fome perfons may be found here and there
in the world, who look upon the exiftence of a Deity as upon a fable,
and who ridicule all acts of religious worfhip whatfoever : but one may
alio fay, that if he compare thefe with the reft of the world, they make
the leaft and worft part of mankind, though many of them afFedt to live
morally well.
All the reft of the world make profeffion that they own a God ; that
is to fay, a moft perfect, eternal, and independent Being; that he go-
verns all things by his providence ; that there is a difference between
good and evil ; that man doth well or ill in thofe actions which depend
on his liberty : from whence they equally conclude, that man was
defigned for the duties of the religion, that fociety without it would be
pure robbery ; and that, as it is hard to conceive that men mould be
wholly deftroyed by death, fo it is directly contrary to the fentiments of
confeience to deny all rewards for virtue, orpunimments for vice, after
this life.
All the diverfities of religion amongft men are reducible to two kinds.
The fir ft is, of thofe who fuppofe that there is more than one Godj
and this is the belief of all Pagans in general.
The fecond is, of thofe that acknov/ledge one only God; fuch are the
Jews, Chriftians, and Alahomctans.
Now, as for the cure of different difeafes feveral remedies are made
ufe of, fo it is vifible, that, to deliver men of their various prejudices, we
muft take very different methods.
The
H THE PREFACE.
The ignorance of thofe barbarous people in the Indies, Tartary, and
JJriea, muft be removed, by teaching them the firft principles, and
making them apply the little fenfc they have left them of good and evil,
light and wrong, to the fundamental maxims of religion.
Atheifts mult be convinced by reflexions upon thofe principles which
they admit, by fhewing that the truths which they reject are the natu-
ral confequences of thofe principles which they dare not difpute.
To convince the Heathen, who fuppofe many gods, we muft examine
their principles, and confute them ; which is the eafieft thing in the
•world ; the wifeft men having formerly acknowledged, as they alfo own
to this very day, that there is but one God.
And indeed it feems, that the greateft part of philofophers did own
a plurality of gods, only in compliance with the opinions of the people,
which it was dangerous to contradict.
And as for the Jews, forafmuch as they agree with the Chrijlians and
Mahometans about the unity of God, we are only to prove to them the
truth of that which is the very eflence of the Chrijilan Religion, in op-
pofition to their prejudices : one may prove this againft the "Jews with-
out any trouble, becaufe they are agreed in moft of thofe principles
which the Chrijlian Religion fuppofes. So likewife it is eafily eftablifhed
againft the Mahometans, who grant the truth of Chrijlian Religion in
general, but pretend that it ought to give place to Mahometanijm, as the
Law ought to give place to theGofpel, preached by Jefus Chrift.
My defign is not to profecute every one of thefe ways in particular.
There are books enough in the world which folidly prove the neceflity
of Religion againft all forts of Atheifts, as well thefe who are fo through
ignorance, as thofe who profefs themfelves fuch from love to libertinifm,
and to pafs for men of a mighty reach.
There are alfo feveral famous authors who have made it evident, that
reafon alone is fufficient to overthrow all Pagan religions whatsoever.
I am refolved to follow a more compendious and fure method, that is,
to demonftrate the truth of the Chrijlian Religion, confidered by itfelf.
In fhort, it is impoftiblc (confidering the oppofition there is between
the Chrijlian Religion and all the other religions in the world) but that,
if the Chrijlian Religion fhould be the true, all others muft be falfe in
thofe articles wherein they efientially differ from it.
And on the other hand, one cannot explain thofe arguments which
clearly evince the truth of Chriftianity, without convicting all other
religions of falfchood, becaufe they are deftitute of thofe proofs which
are peculiar to the Chrijlian Religion.
I know wery well that there are feveral ways which lead to the end
which I propofe. Men that think much, wifh that a perfect conformity
of the Chrijlian Religion with the confeience of man might be demon-
ftrated, from reflexions on the heart of man, and the dictates of it, which
to them would be a convincing and demonftrative proof.
Others apply themfelves to a Speculative examination of the doctrines
and proofs of the Chrijlian Religion, to fhew their conformity with the
notions of reafon. I will not deny but that both thefe employ themfelves
ufually in this fort of ftudy, and' that truth finds a confiderable fupport
from their meditations.
But
THE PREFACE. iii
But how ufeful foever they may be, I have rather chofen to follow
another courfe, as thinking it of more advantage, folidly to eftablifh the
facts which the Chriftian Religion propofeth ; which appears to me to be
more proper to periuade all forts of readers, and better levelled to the
ordinary capacity of thofe who newly enter upon the examination of
this truth.
And as the necefiity of revelation is generally owned by heathens, and
by all other nations of the world, I thought it a thing altogether unne-
cefiary to enter upon the examination of feveral abftra&ed queftions,
fuch as thefe : whether there be any natural knowledge of God, whether
men are naturally inclined to be religious, and the like. When I (hall
have firmly proved, that God revealed himfelf, that he prefcribed a fer-
vice to the firft men, who left the rules of it to all their pofterity, from
whence all the religion that ever was, or is yet in the heathen world,
was derived, I (hall have prevented many very unprofitable difputes,
and which can only perplex the mind by their obfeurity.
I have therefore confined myfelf to certain confiderations, which da
fo eftablifh the truth of the books of the Old and New Teftament, as
by their union they firmly prove the truth of the Chriftian Religion.
I hope that it will not be thought needful for me to demonftrate, that
the Mahometan religion ought not to abolifh the Chriftian, as the Chris-
tians pretend that the Chriftian Religion abrogated the ceremonial part of
the Jewijh worfhip.
As foon as an understanding Reader fhall make fome reflexions upoa
the nature of the arguments winch demonftrate the truth of the Chriftian
Religion, he may eafily perceive that God never framed the model of
that religion which the Mahometans would obtrude upon us«
REFLEXIONS
REFLEXIONS
UPON THE
BOOKS of the HOLY SCRIPTURE,
For the Eftablifhing of the Truth
OF THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
C . H A P. I.
Concerning the Fundamentals of. the Christian Religion.
WE are to confider three things in the Chriftian Religion; the
Matters of Fact, it propounds to us for true, the Promifes it
affords up, and the Worfhip it commands.
The Matters of Fact it propounds to us as true, are — that God created
the world ; that he formed the hrft man, from whom the reft of man-
kind have been propagated ; that a while after this man was created, he
violated the law God had given him ; and that whereas he deferved to
have perifhed for this his diibbedience, God was pleafed, inftead thereof,
to comfort him with the hopes of a Saviour which was to be born of the
feed of his wife ; that God hath actually fent this Saviour into the world,
which comprehends the whole economy of Chrift, viz. hi^ birth, life,
preaching, miracles, death, refurre&ioii, and afcenfion into heaven, &c.
The
Cn. I. Reflexions upon Gettejis. 221
ThePromifes it vouchfafes, are the forgivenefs of our fins, the rc-
furre&ion of our bodies, and a flate absolutely happy for ever in
heaven.
And tartly, the Worfhip of divine fervice it prefcribes confifts in obe-
dience to the law of God, in prayer for the pardon of our fins, and his
protection, and in a grateful acknowledgment of what we owe him for
all his benefr.s towards us.
The firft of thefe three parts of the Chriftian Religion, viz. the truth
of the Matters of Fail it relates, may be faid to be the foundation of the
other two, viz. thePromifes and commands.
It is impofiible to be perfuaded, that God hath created this world in
which we live, and made mankind of one and the fame blood ; that after
the fall he promifed to fave men, and did actually redeem them in fending
Jefus Chrift, who fuffered death, and being raifed the third day afcended.
into heaven, &c. I fay, it is impofiible to look upon thefe fadls as true
without being affured that God will accomplifh the promifes he hath
made to us.
And it is as evident that we cannot be convinced of the truth of thefe
matters, without being fenfibleof a ffrong obligation laid upon us toper-
form all the duties of the Chriftian religion.
As foon as a man reflects upon his being God's creature, he finds himfelf
naturally obliged to obey God univerfally, according to his utmoft abi-
lity : but when he comes further to believe, that God did not deflroy the
firir. man forhis difobedience, but was gracioufly pleafed to promifehim
a Saviour for himfelf and all his pofterity ; and when moreover he is af-
fured, that God hath really fent this Saviour in the way and manner the;
Gofpel relates to us ; we cannot conceive but that he mud find himfelf
under the higheft engagements imaginable of rendering to God a reli-
gious obedience, and believing his promifes.
But there is yet another obligation whereby man is bound to obey God,
to pray to him, and to offer him all manner of religious worfhip : God,
by redeeming him, hath obtained a new claim to, and right over him; and
a more indifpenfable obligation is laid upon man tofubmithimfelf to God,
in all religious concerns, as being not only created but alfo redeemed by
him.
Reafon acknowledged!, that if the truth of thefe things be once ad-
mitted, nothing can be more juft and natural than thole confluences
which the Chriftians thence infer.
All the difficulty therefore that occurs in this matter, confifts in the
proof of thofe fa<5f.s which the Chriftian religion propounds tousj that is
to fay, in proving the creation of the world, the fall of man, thepromife
ofa redeemer, his coming into the world, his miracles, death, refurreclion,
afcenfion into heaven, &c. which are the foundations of the Chriftian
Religion. And indeed ihefe are the very matters of which Atheifh and
Libertines require a folid proof.
And it doth the more concern us tofatisfy their demands, forafmuch
as the Jews, who are fcattered throughout the whole world, do oppofe
cur afllrtion, that the promife of fending the Mefiiah is already accom-
piifhed, though they agree upon the matter with us in all other articles.
Moreover, the performing this tafk may very much contribute to the con-
verfion
222 Reflexions upon Gene/is. Ch. II.
verfion of a great number of bad Chriftians, whofe fall and continuance
in vices and licentioufnefs is to be afcribed to their being fo weakly
perfuaded of the truth of thefe Fundamental?, and that becaufe they
have never confidertd of them with fufficient attention.
CHAP. II.
That the Christian Religion is founded upon Proofs of Matter of
Fail.
FORASMUCH as, in order to eftablifh the truth of the Chriftian
Religion, we confine ourfelves at prefent to thofe Proofs which
make out the Matters of Fact, it propofes ; omitting all other arguments
which may evidence the truth of it, though pofiibly no lefs convincing ;
it is obvious, that the proofs we are to produce in confirmation of them,
muft be fuch as are proper to evince the trutli of things long fince paft
and done.
If we were treating of the events of the time we live in, it might be
jultiy required that we fhould produce eye-witnefles of them : but for-'
afmuch as the queftion here is concerning matters long fince p2ft, it
is natural for us to have recourfe to hiftory, which furnifheth us with
the relations of thofe who were eye-witneiVcs of the fame; this being
the only way left us to confirm our belief of things at io great a diltance
from us.
I am beholden to hiftory only for the knowledge I have of a Cyrust
an Alexander, or a Cafar ; and yet having read the r.ccount they give me
of them, I find them matters I can no way rationally doubt of.
I acknowledge that the certainty we have of things long fince paft, is
much inferior to that which we have of matters confirmed to us by eye-
witnelTes. Neverthelefs, becaufe it is evident that the events of ancient
times cannot be confirmed but by proofs of this nature, it has never
entered into the minds of any to account the cxifience of fuch men as
Cyrus and Alexander for fables, upon the pretence that none now alive
did ever fee them, or becaufe there are fcarce any traces left of thofe em-
pires of which they were the foun
Indeed the certainty we have of thefe things is fuch, as nothing can
be fuperadded to it ; for though it be founded on the authority of hifto-
rians who lived many ages ago, yet withal we are to coniidcr that the
matters related do not only carry the idea of probability and truth along
with them, but that they are the very ground and foundation of all the
hiltories of following ages; which cannot be questioned, if we confider
the connexion and dependence of the things related, according to the
light of fenfe, and the equity of rcafon.
A Matter
Ch. II. Reflexions upon Cenefis. 223
A Matter of Fa£r. then is accounted certain, when it is attefted by
thofe who were eye-witnefTes of it, when recorded by an hiftorian who
lived amongft thofe who had perfect knowledge of it ; when the matter is
not gainfaid or contradicted by any ; if we find it penned at a time when
the things could not be related by any otherwife than indeed they were,
without expofing themfelves to public derifion ; and laft of all, when
the matter is found to be of that nature, as none could be ignorant of
it, cither becaufe it was the intereft of every one to be informed of it,
or becaufe the thing was fo public that it could not be hid from any;
or laftly, becaufe of its natural connexion with all thofe other events
which neceffarily depend on it.
To fpealc plain, it is very unjuft to demand either more proofs, or fuch
as are of another nature, for the confirmation of the truth of our reli-
gion, than are required to verify any other matters of fadt. Why fhould
not the teftimony of Noah's children be fufEcient to conclude there was
fuch a man as Metkufalem, in cafe they allure us that they have feen him ?
Or why Ihould not the teftimony of Methufalem be of credit enough to
prove there was fuch a man as Adam, if he avers that he law him, and
converfed with him ? Do we not every day give credit to the account
which old men give us of their predeceflbrs, efpecially when we find that
what they relate hath an exa£t reference and connexion with thofe things
we are eye-witnefTes of ?
But it is an eafy thing to make it appear, that the proofs which evi-
dence the truth of the matters which our religion propofeth, are infinitely
more ftrong and convincing.
All the circumftances we can imagine proper to evince the truth of
any relation, do concur to place the matters recorded in holy Scripture
beyond the reach of doubt or uncertainty.
We account the Tingle teftimony of an hiftorian a fufEcient proof that
there was once a very famous temple at Deltbos or Epbefus, notwith-
ftanding that all the monuments remaining at this day to confirm his re-
lation be very doubtful and defective. Whereas I fhall make it appear
that an entire nation, yea, many nations, do atteft the truth of thofe mat-
ters which theChriftian Religion propofes; and that all the actions, dif-
■courfes, and whole feries of events thereto relating, do furnifh us with
an infinite number of characters which invincibly lignalize the truth of
the holy Scriptures.
CHAP. III.
224 Reflexions upon Genefls. Ctt. III.
chap. in.
Some General Remarks, in order to ejlablifij the Truth of Holy
Scripture.
FORASMUCH as I have undertaken to prove the truth of
the Matters of Fact contained in our Religion from the teftimony
of the penmen of the Old and New Teftament, it will be proper, in
order to the executing of my defign, to begin with a general proof of the
truth of the faid books \ which will not be difficult, if one makes the
following remarks.
The firft is, That it appears from the five books of Mofes, that he
wrote the hiftory of the creation of the world, and of the promife of
the Meffiah ; of the deluge, the rife and pedigree of the fevcral nations
of the world, of the divifion of tongues ; and in particular, the hiftory
of the family of Abraham until the entering of the children of If r a el into
Pahflina, 2552 years after the creation of the world.
The fecond is, That the following books, viz. of Jcfiua, Judges,
Ruth, the four bocks of Kings, of Chronicles, with the books of Ezra
and Neh-miah, are a continuation of the faid hiftory, from the entering
of the Jews into Palejlina, until their re-eftablifhment in the faid coun-
try, about the year of the world 3600. Here we read the conqueft of
Pakftina under the conduct of Jojhua, how it was divided amongft the
tribes after they had deftroyed, drove out, or fubdued, the inhabitants
thereof; how often they were brought into bondage by the bordering
nations, whefe rife and pretentions AJofes fets down. Here we have re-
corded the feveral names and actions of the judges which God from
time to time raifed to the lfraelites, to reftore them to their firft eftate.
Here we have an account of the eftablifhment of a kingly government
rmongft them, which happened about the year 290Q ; as likewife of the
divifion of this people into two kingdoms, which for three ages toge-
ther were molt obpofite in their interests, and made great wars againft
each other, as well as as againll their neighbouring ftates. We find here
the utter ruin of the mod puiftant of thefe two ftates; viz. that of Jfrael
by the arms of the kings of Afjyria, about the year of the world 3283 ;
and after that, the deftruclion of that of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king
of the Chaldeans, anno mundi 3416. And la ft of all, we have an account
of the Jeivs reftoration by Cyrus king of Perfia, and the ftate of the Jews
under his fucceffors.
The third thing obfervable is, That in the remaining books of the
Old Teftamentwe find feveral hiftorical relations relating to both king-
dom?, with feveral prophecies relating to their decay and reftoration,
as likewife many difcourfes of morality and piety ; and that all thefe re-
lations and prophecies appear to have been writ at fuch a time, and with
thofe circumftances, which have a natural reference to what the othtr
books recite to us, and an eilential relation to the books and laws of
Mofes, which we find to be the foundation of all thefe prophecies, rela-
tions,
Ch. III. Reflexions upon Genefu, 225
tions, and whatfocver elfe we find there concerning their government or
religion.
The fourth is, That the books of the New Teftament contain an exacl:
relation of the life of Jefus Chrift, who appeared to the world under
the reign of Tiberius, of the eftablifbment of his religion in the world,
together with fome difputes with the Jews, who refilled to own him for
theMefiiah promifed by the Prophets ; and, laftly, prophecies, declaring
what in procefs of time was to happen both to the Jews and Chriftians
until the end of the world. Thefe books take the truth of Mojes\ wri-
tings every where for granted, as alfoof the other facred writings of the
Old Teftament, both hiftorical, prophetical, and moral.
Thefe four particulars do in a manner give us an entire idea of the
holy Scripture; and we fhall fcarcely ftand in need of ought elfe to
manifeft the truth of thofe writings, if we confider thofe undifputable
matters of fac~l I am now to fpeak of, and will but make fome very na-
tural reflexions upon them.
The firft is, That the Chriftians, notwithftanding their being divided
into feveral fects and parties prefently after our Saviour's time, have,
and do ftill, in all places, every firft day of the week, read the books of
the New Teftament tranflated into their refpecYive languages ; fo that
it appears abfolutely impofiible that any fpurious writings fhould have
been flipped in amongft them.
The fecond is, That as the Chriftians have had the books of the Old
Teftament amongft them in Greek thefe 1600 years, fo the Heathens had
them in that language ^00 years before, being tranflated by order of one
of the Ptolemy 's kings of Egypt, whither a confiderable party of the Jews
were carried, after that Alexander the Great had conquered the greateft:
part of Afia, having overthrown the empire of Perfia, to which the Jews
were in fubje£r.ion.
The third is, That though the Jews had not all the books of the Old
Teftament from the beginning of their commonwealth, they that fol-
lowed the party of Jeroboam, and formed the kingdom of Ifrael, having
only had the five books of Mofes amongft them ; yet, notwithftanding
their irreconcilable hatred againft the houfe of David, they have rnoft
reliefioufly preferved the faid books from anno mundl 5030, in which the
divifions of the two kingdoms happened, even until this day.
The fourth and laft is, That as the Jews every where, at this day,
read the books of Mofes and of the Prophets each fabbath-day (which is
alfo obferved by the Samaritans), and the Chriftians read them every
firft day of the week ; fo the Jews have always continued to read them
for a long feries of ages, as efteeming it a great part of the fanctification.
of the fabbath. Befides which, they alfo iolernnly read them every feventh
year, in obedience to a law of Mofes, as being one of the principal parts
of their religion.
I fay, that the fole confideration of thefe matters of fact, (which are
indifputable) are fufficient to prove in general the truth of the books of
the Oid and New Teftament.
Firft then, I affirm, that it is as ridiculous to maintain, that the
books of the Old and New Teftament, tranflated into fo many lan-
guages, cited bv an infinite nu:nb;r of authors, and which have been the
Vol.1. ' P ftbjetf:
aa6 Htjlexlons upon Genefis. Ch. Ill,
fubje& of various difputes from the very times of the Apoftles, or foon
after, fhould be fuppofititious, as to aver that the books of Jujlinian,
or Mahomet's Alcoran, have been falfly obtruded on the world under
their names. I fpeak now only of the books themfelves, not of the truth
of the hiftory they contain.
Secondly, It is ridiculous to fuppofe that the books of the Old Tefta-
ment were forged fmce the time of Ptolemy Pbiiadelphus, forafmuch
as they have been in the hands of the heathens themfelves ever fincc that
time.
Thirdly, It is as inconfiftent to fuppofe them contrived ftnee the time
of the reparation of the ten tribes from Judah, becaufe we find the books
of Mvfei among the Samaritans, who have preferved them ever fince
their revolt, without any other change but what is incident to all ma-
nufcripts that pafs through many hands.
I grant indeed that the Samaritans have none of the other books of the
Old Teitament ; but this being to be looked upon only as an effect of their
departure from the kingdom of Judab, it cannot in the leaft fhake the
certainty we have of thofe books. For, firft, the three other tribes
had them, and preferved them with the greater! care, efteeming them
of Divine authority. Secondly, there were alfo reafons of ftate which
made the kin^s of Ifrael not to regard the divifions made by JoJ/ma
of the land of Canaan, nor the authority of the prieflhood ; which reafons
of ftate (hereafter mentioned) were the caufe why the ten tribes would
not allow the lame authority to fome of thofe books which were writ-
ten before their revolt, as thofe of Samuel, and the writings of David
and Solomon* which they did to the Pentateuch of Mofes. Moft of the
others we know were penned fmce the divifion of the two kingdoms,
and Co did more particularly refpect the kingdom of Judab, and fome of
them after the carrying away of the ten tribes by the Atfyrians.
Thus we fee the truth of thefe books, and more efpccially thofe of
Mofes, confirmed till the time of the revolt of the ten tribes, and con-
firmed beyond exception; at leaft far beyond the certainty we can have
of the truth of any other book in the world. It remains only now to
examine, whether as to the books of Mofes we find not the fame certainty,
when we look back from the departure of the ten tribes to the time of
Mofes; that is to fay, whether there be the leaft probability that they
were forged in any part of that interval of about 5S0 years.
I fay then, in the fourth^ place, that it is no leis ridiculous to fuppofe
them forged during that period. Firft, becaufe it is impoHible that
thefe books fhould have been forged in the form wc now fee them, but
that the forgery muft have been apparent to all the world; Nothing
' he more notorious, than whether the Jews did read the law of Mofes
M-day in all their families or fynagogucs, and every feventh
rear befide's : nothing was of more eafy obfervation than whether they
did keep their three iolemn feafts, viz. that of the paftbver, pentecofr,
and cf tabernacles : nothing could be more apparent than whether the
Jews did obey the laws contained in the Pentateuch, whether relating to
particular perfons, to tribes, or their lands, and the manner of pofleifing
tn, Indeed, nothing can be imagined more abfurd, than to fuppofe
an
CflT. IV, Reflexions upon Gtnefiu * 227
an infenfible change wrought either in the form of their civil govern-
menr, or the ceremonies of their religion.
Indeed it is an unfu.Terable piece of boldnefs to charge the Jews wit!)
forging thefe books of Mofts, or adulterating of them in this period of
time, when it appears they have kept them without any alteration for
the (pace of 2700 years, as hath been fhewed already. If it be faid, that
the Jews being divided into two kingdoms, and difperfed into diftant
countries, were not in a condition to" forge or adulterate any of the faid
books, becaufe it might eafily have been difcovered ; it may be aniwered,
that the fame reafons took place iu this interval of 580 years: for,
from the time of Mqfes to Rebohoatn\ they were not only greatly divided
amongft themfelves, but almoft continually fubjeft to neighbouring
ftates, who fubdued them by turns, as we fee in the book of Judges.
'• Moreover we are to take notice, Firft, that thefe books of Mofcs arc
Che rife and foundation of the laws and cuftoms of the heathens, as well
as of their fictions, which we fhall have occafion to point at in the fequel
of this difcourfe.
Secondly, that the hiflory contained in the Pentateuch is evidently
confirmed by the following books of Jojbua and Judges, which have an
eflehtial reference to the fame, and contain a relation of the public a&s
of many nations, attefted and acknowledged by heathen authors, who
Were the mortal enemies of the Jews.
Thirdly, that the faid books are fo clofely linked and related to thofe
public and known actions, that it is impoflible to feparate the laws thev
contain from the matters of fact attefted by Pagan hiflory, or to be ig-
norant that the form of the Jewifh government was nothing elfe but an
execution of the laws contained in the Pentateuch, which equally lays
down that platform of their policy and worfhip.
My bufmefs at prefent only is to hint thefe general reflexions concern-
ing the truth of the books of the Old and New Teftament ; though the
fequel will oblige me to make feme more particular reflexions upon each
book, when I fhall come to confider the feveral relations they contain.
1 now come to the matter in hand, beginning with the book of Ger.efts ;
where we find an account of the creation of the world, the forming of
man, the fall, the promife of the Meffiah, the propagation of mankind,
the deluge, with other matters, until the death of Jofeph, which contains
the hiflory of the v/orld for the fpace of 2369 years.
CHAP. IV.
That the Tejlbmny of Moses concerning the Creation of the IVorld^ and
the Pro wife of the Meffiah, is unquefiionable.
FORASMUCH as amongft thofe matters which Mofs relates in the
book of Gcnefis, that of the Creation of the World in feven days,
2nd of the Promife of the Meffiah, are fuch upon which all the reft do
P 2 depend
228 Reflexions upon Genefts* Ch. IV*
depend (as I fhall fhew hereafter), it is evident that I muft make it my
bufinefs in a fpecial manner to evince the truth of the fame.
Towards the confirmation of which matters of fail ; the one of which
is, that God created a firfl man ; the other, that God had promifed in
due time to fend the Meffiah for redemption of mankind from the punish-
ment of fin; 1 fhall propofe the following remarks.
Mofes, the great law-giver of the Jews, laid thefe two matters of fo&
as the bafis of the laws he was to publifh ; and he relates them to us, as
things which were not only known to him, and fome others of the
Jewifl) nation, but to all the people of the world, and particularly the
whole nation amongft whom he lived.
To understand the force of this argument, we muft mind three things :
the firft is, the nature of the matters themfelves ; the other is, the cha-
racter of him that relates them j and the third, the ufe Mofes makes of
them.
For the firft, nothing was more needful to be known than thefe two
things before us ; they were matters which concern the whole world, and
of which every one ought to be informed ; they are matters about which
it is not eafy to be deceived, every one being in a condition to fatisfy
himfclf about them, and of which confequently they could not but be
mcft thoroughly informed.
I dare maintain that there are no fadts in profane hiftory of impor-
tance comparable to thefe of the creation of the world, and the promife
of the Mcjfiab, as Mofes has related them.
2. And as for the author who relates thefe points, it is as plain that
his character did wonderfully contribute to the making of his book fa-
mous. He was a man illuftrious, as well by reafon of his education, as
the rank he held amongft men ; a man equally expofed to the judgment
of enemies and friends, and who could not vent the Ieaft thing contrary
to truth, in matters of great importance, without feeing himfelf imme-
diately refuted, or rather without cxpofing himfelf to public fcorn.
ReSides I aver, and am ready to maintain, that we find no author of
fo illuftrious a character as Mofes was, or who is diftinguifhed with (o
many effential marks of faithfulnefs and veracity, as appears throughout
the whole tenour of his writings.
3. This will appear more evidently when we confider the ufe to which
Mofes defigns thefe two relations of' the creation of the world, and the
promife of the Mefflah.
In a word, his defign was not, in furnifhinghis books with the recitals
of thefe important facts, to engage others to read them with more atten-
tion, or to get himfelf reputation by exciting a curioSity in people for
his books. This would not have been becoming the gravity and wifdom
of fo great a legislator, of whom all Succeeding ages have borrowed their
laws.
It is apparent, that his end in the recording of thefe matters was to
infpire with a fenfe of piety and religion, thoi'e who were committed to
his charge.
This Is that which in general we may obferve about thefe matters;
but mere particularly it is certain, that Mofes his end, in recording the
oracles
Ch. IV. Reflexions upon Genefis. 229
oracles by which God promifed K.o Abraham the eftablifhing his pofterity
in the land of Canaan, was to represent to the Jews the right they had to
that land, according to the defign and intent of the Divine wifdom.
But without making this particular reflexion, it is clear that the law
took its beginning at the twelfth of Exodus, where God prefcribes to his
people the manner of celebrating the pafTover ; at leaft, this is the firft
law which God gave them through the miniftry of Mofes: but forafmuch
as MofeS his end was to juftify in the minds of his people, the defign he
had to make them leave Egypt, as well as their pretenfions to the land of
Canaan, whither he was to lead them ; it was natural for him to lay be-
fore them the ground of thofe pretenfions, which he could not do without
relating the whole feries of the hiftory until the time of their bondage in
Egypt, which we read in Genefis ; the greateft part of which only con-
cerns the anceftors of that people, after that Mofes had firft laid down
the grounds of religion, and that which was known to all nations.
Let us now imagine to ourfelves a man endeavouring all of a fudden
to introduce into the world the belief of things fo far diftant from com-
mon appreheniion as thefe two points muft needs be, viz. that of the
creation, and the promife of Chrift, in cafe we fuppofe them generally
unknown : let us yet further conceive a man not only relating thofe
things, but making them the foundation of a new fort of laws never
before heard of. Is there any wit or judgment in fuch an undertaking ?
Can we therefore fuppofe that Mojes, whofe writings teftify his great
wifdom, mould ever have entertained fuch unaccountable thoughts ?
I dare aver that there was never any legislator fo ftupid and inconfi-
derate, as to pretend to engage a whole people to fubmit themfelves to
the yoke of obedience, and to receive a great number of laws refpe&ing
their civil government and religion, by declaring to them two fi&ions,
of which they had never before had the leaft idea.
It is alfo very cohfiderable, that thefe things are not recited by Mofes
as a preface to the Decalogue, as if then firft they had been propofed to
Mofes, or the people by God; but Mofes fets them down as truths known
to them all, and as principles univerfally admitted, and fuch as the
mere mentioning of them could not but ftrongly engage the J^ws to
render a ready obedience to the laws which God gave to Mojes in their
prefence of the Divine authority, of which their very fenfes were con-
vinced.
Let us alfo confider the nature of thofe things, the relation of which
Mofes has joined with thefe two general points, to make an impreflion
on the minds of the Jews. Let us confider the account he gives chem
of their anceftors, nearer or farther off, whom he reprefents as equ~ lly
informed of thefe matters, as having feverally delivered the knowledge
of them to their children, and having joined to thefe firft truths of the
creation, and the promife of a Saviour, many other notions thereon de-
pending, and which tied their hopes and expectations to the land of
Canaan. And now judge whether Mofes were not to be accufed of great
folly and fenfelefsnefs, if he had proceeded to make fuch a vaft people
(all of the fudden) to receive for truths publicly and generally owned,
what indeed was nothing but the moft ridiculous and ill-cohering ro-
mance that ever was broached,
P 3 Now
2^0 Reflexions upon Gcneji;. Ch. IV.
Now, fince as it is vifible (talcing in the circumftances I have hinted)
that the authority of fuch on hiflorian and law-giver as Mofes was, re-
lating fuch important matters, cannot be called in queftion ; it follows,
that the Atheift can have nothing to object againft his teftimony, with
the lead fhadow or pretence of reafon. So that we may already aflert,
that there is nothing better attefted than the creation of the world, and
the promife of Chrift, which are the immovable foundations of the
Chriftian Religion.
Nevcrthelefs, for a more evident conviction, we are willing, before we
draw this conclufion, to make it appear how weak and inconfiderable
all thole objections are, which Athcifts can poflibly frame againft what
Mofes relates concerning thefe matters.
Whaf can they with reafon object ? Perhaps they'll f.\y, that Mofes is
ndt the author of Genefts, but that it was foiftcd in under his name, and
confequently, that whatfoever is built upon the authority of Mofes and
his evidence is all without ground ; or they may object, that, if Mofes
be indeed the author of Gcneft;^ he lived at fuch a diftance of time
from the things which he relates, that it makes void the authority of his
writings. They may moreover alledge, that Mofes relates things im-
poffible, and of which therefore thofe that mentioned them before, the
things themfelves being fo long fince pail and done, could not be fully
informed of, and that they may well be fuppofed greatly -changed and
altered by a tradition of fo many ages. They may alfo alledge, that
according to the common opinion, Mofes penned not thefe things as an
hiflorian, but as a prophet ; and that the apprehenfion of mo ft concerning
his books are, that he wrote of things whereof the knowledge before
his time was very obfeure and confufed, or rather were generally un-
known.
They may object againft thefe relations of Mfes, that which the moft
ancient people, fuch as the Mzyptians, Chaldeans, and Chinefe, alledge
for their antiquity, which far furpaffeth the date of the world according
to Mofes.
Thefe are the principal ways to affault the truths which Mofes relates;
tlth:;- by mainlining with the Atheifts, on one hand, that the things
which Mofes relates are indeed mentioned by the authors, but that they
forged them themfelves; or that Mofes. being an able and rehncd politi-
cian, defigned, by creating a belief of thefe matters in the Jcivs, to make
them more fubmiffive and obedient to him.
In a word, it may be laid, that fuppofing the bookr- otQfwfii to be
written by Mofls, it was an eafy matter for him to dictate whatsoever
he pleafcd to a people who woe under a law that made it capital to call
in queftiqn the truth of his relations, or the authority of his laws.
This certainly is the fart heft to which the height of obftinacy can carry
this matter, and the very laft refuge of the ftrongeft prejudice. But it is
an eafy matter to confound the Atheifts and Libertines in every one of
thefe articles, and to fhew that all their objections do in effect ferve for
nothing clfe but to make a more lively impreffion of this argument taken
iVom matter of i-ict, which I have undertaken to fet forth in a full and
clear light.
CHAP. V.
Ch. V. Reflexions upon Genefis. 23I
CHAP. V.
That Moses is the Author of the Book of Genests.
I SHALL in the fequel of this difcourfe make it appear, that' we
cannot with reafon conteft the authority of a tradition which hath
thofe characters which we find in the relations contained in the book of
Gene/is: the only thing that can be queftioned in this matter is, whe-
ther Mofes, the great captain of the I/raelites, and founder of their com-
monwealth, be the author of it. This therefore is the thing which we
ought folidly to evince.
Though itfeems that we might difpenfe with this trouble ; forafmuch
as it is eafy to mew, that the greatcftpart of the moft confiderable events,
which are recorded in the book of Gene/is, were generally believed by
others as well as the Jews.
At leaft it muftbe granted, that thefe matters have given cccaiion to
moll of their fables, viz. to that of the chaos ; to that of the marriage
of Peleus and Thetis ; for the forming of man, to that of Prometheus ; to
that of Jupiter's continued laughter for the feven firft days of his life,
which they looked upon as the origina1 of the folemnity of the ieventh
day, known amongit the heathens ; to that of the golden age, and of
the deluge ; to the name of Deucalion ; to the fable of Janus^to that of
the divifion of the world amongft Saturn 's fons ; to the name of Jupiter
Hammon ; to the fable of the Titans^ and of the changing of women'into
iratues of (tone ; to the ftories of the inceft the gods committed with
their daughters j to that of the firing of the world by Phaeton ; and to.
a great number of other fictions, which cannot be othervvife explained,
as the learned have (hewn at large.
Whofcever was the author of Gene/is, whether Mofes or another, fure
it is that he was exa&ly informed of the matters he relate?, and that he
lived foon after Jojeph.
Firft then I fay, that it appears he was fully informed of thofe matters
of which he treats : he fets down the names of the heads or fathers of
the feveral nations of the world, and does it fo, that what he faith doth
very well agree with what the moft ancient hiftorians have left us con-
cerning that matter; he fpeaks of thefe nations, of the countries they
pofTefled, and their kings, as of things he was perfectly informed of; he
very carefully diftinguiih.es the original of thefe feveral nations : and the
fame being at that ti«ne commonly known, no hiftorian could reprefent
them otherwife than they were, without expofing himfelf to the laughter
of all, by endeavouring to mix fables with relations of this nature.
In the fecond place, I fay, that this book was writ by a man that lived
foon after Jofeph : he fpeaks very exactly of what Jofcph did in his place
of chief minifter to Pharaoh ; in particular, he fets down the firft ori-
ginal of the fifth penny which the Egyptians^ fo many ages after, conti-
nued to pay to their kings, being a thing which no Egyptian could be
ignorant of.
P 4 And
232 Reflexions upon Gene/is: Ch. V;
And laftly, it is vifible, that this book ferves for an introdu&ion to
Exodus, and the following books, which have no other foundation but
the truth of thofe things which are related to us there, and do through-
out allude and refer to the leveral pafTages of it ; and that all matters
of religion and worfhip contained in them, are founded upon the truth
of the creation, and the promife of the Mfffiah, which we find in Genefis ;
and upon the truth of all thofc other fucceeding matters of fa£t, until
the coming of the children of Ifr a el into Egypt, when Jofeph was chief
favourite and minifler of Pharaoh,
But we have yet a more eafy way to make out that Mofes, whofe
hiftory is contained in Exodus and the following books, is the author of
Genefis.
Forfirfr, it cannot be denied that the heathens themfelves have ac-
knowledged Mofes for the moil: ancient law-giver : for this we have the
teftimonies of Plato, Polemus, Artapanus, Pythagoras, Theopompus, and
jDiodorus S'uulus, who places Mofes in the front of fix of the mod ancient
law-givers thus ; Mofes, Sauchnis, Sefonchofs, Bachcris, Amcfis, and Darius
father of Xerxes.
But further, if, when the Lacedemonians tell us of the laws of their
law-giver Lycnrgv.s, and the Athenians of thofe of their Solon, we think
ourfeives obliged to believe them, becaufe naturally every nation is fup-
pofed to be a faithful depofitary of the laws of him who firft founded their
government; yea, if we do not in the leaft doubt of thefe relations,
though there be no people at this day who live according to the laws of
Lycurgus or Solon; can any valuable reafon be imagined, for us to doubt
whether Mofes wrote the book of Genefis, when an entire nation have
conftantly averred that he did fo ? I fay, when all the Jews, who con-
tinue at this day, do in all places, where they are fcattered throughou:
the world equally, and with one confent. maintain that they received
this book from him, together with the laws and worfhip therein con-
tained ? nay, when it is notorious that many of them have fuffered
martyrdom in confirmation of this truth ?
I omit now to mention the confent of the Chriftians, who, though they
be not defcended of Abraham, and do not obferve the greateft part of
the laws 0$ Mofes, yet do not ceafe highly to defend this truth through-
out the world, the Gofpel in their fenfe being nothing elfe but the lite-
ral accomplifhment of that promife, The feed of the woman (hall bru'ife the
head of the ferpent. I fhall fhew, in the fequel of thefe my Refkxions,
with how much juflice they aflent to this truth ; but at prefent 1 tie my-
£elf only to the teftimonies of the Jews, and that which confirms the.
authority thereof.
CHAP. VI.
Ch. VI; Reflexions upon Genefis. 233
CHAP. VI.
That the Booh of Genesis could not be forged under the name of M.oses.
I SHOULD never have done, fhould I go about to fet down all the
obfervations which might be made in comparing this book of Genefis
with other hiffories commonly known to the world, and whofe faithfulnefs
is unqueftionable. Without entering upon this comparifon, we may
boldly afTert, that there is no hiftory in the world whofe author we can
be fo fure of, as that Mofes was the penman of Genefis.
But I go further, and afTcrt, that the Jews could not be miftaken in
the teftimonies they give to this truth j which I prove by thefe two re-
marks.
The firfl is, That their obfervations, both civil and religious, are at
this day founded upon no other principles than thofe which we find in
Genefis : as, for inftance, they compute the beginning of their day from
the preceding evening, they keep the fabbath, they obferve circumci-
fion, they abltain from eating the mufcle which is in the hollow of the
thigh, &c. The obfervation of which laws is indeed prefcribed to them
in the other books of Mofes ; but the occafion and ground of them all is
nowhere to be found but in Gcnefls, to which all thefe laws have a natu-
ral relation.
The fecond is, That th* book of Genefis taking for granted, that the
porter ity of Abraham^ as well as his anceftors, had always obferved the
fabbath and circumcifion ; and the books of Mofes ordering the fame to
be conftantly read in every family, to which the fabbath-day was more
peculiarly appropriated, and the whole to be read over every feventU
year, as we know the Jews practice was, according to the law of Mofes ;
the firft of which injunctions they practice ftill in all places, and have
left off the other, only becaufe they cannot do it now they are out of
their own land ; I fay, (uppofing all this, it is abfolutely impoffible
that any other than Mofes could have made this book to be received.
The forgery, at the beginning, would have been palpable, even to
children themfelves : as, for example, let us fuppofe that Solomon had
formed a delign of deceiving the people, in publifhing the book of Genefis
for a book of Mofes; is it poffible he fhould fo far impofe on his
people, as to make them to receive the faid book all at once, as that
which had been conftantly read in their families every feventh day, and
year, and that for 600 years before his time? and therefore, as a book
that had been fo long in all their families, though indeed it was never
heard of by them before that time.
If an impoftor can create a belief in others, that he hath fome fecret
communication with the Deity, thofe who are thus perfuaded by him,
will eafily fubmit themfelves to hjs laws; but it is abfolutely impoflible
that a whole people fhould all at once forget whatfoever they have learned
or
Reflexions upon Gcnefi;. Ch. VI.
or heard of their parents or forefathers, and inftcad thereof admit of
tales forged at pleafure.
Some nations have heen fo ridiculous, to derive themfelves from a fa-
bulous original ; but they never fell into fuch mifrak.es about thofe
things which were at no great diftance from the time in which they
lived.
Befides, we know that thefe fabulous originals never made fo lively
an impreflion upon the minds of a whole nation, efpecially the learned
amongft them, as generally to be believed j but we rather find, that
they have endeavoured to reconcile them to truth, by fhewing fomething
elfe was hinted thereby, as we may fee by the explication the heathens,
themfelves have given us of all their fables, and utterly rejected thofe
which they could not reconcile to good fenfe.
But in this cafe, we find a whole nation to this very dav main-
taining all the matters of fact related in Genefis, and in particular
that of the creation, as of matters whofc memorial they have con-
ftantly celebrated every feventh day, fince the time they firft hap-
pened.
Laftly, It cannot be denied but that this book was conftantly ufed to
be read amongft the Jews, efpecially on the fabbath-day, and that under
the name of ?vdofe s ; for inftance, fince the time of Jefus Chrift, cr fince
that of David : neither can it be denied, but this conftant reading was
obfervtd by Virtue of a law contained in the faid book. Now, if this law
has always been in this book from the firft appearing of it, which can-
not be queftioned, how was it poffible to forge and foift m this book
- under the name of Mofcs, the founder of the Jexifh government ? I fay,
this book, which, befides all this, contains fuch extraordinary matters,
and is the very foundation of all their religion.
I will not repeat here what 1 mentioned in the third chapter, to make
the vanity of thofe men appear, who imagine the book of Gcncfis, and
the four that follow it, might have been forged by others, under Mofes
his name : yet I think I ought, before I proceed further, to remove a
ieeming difficulty, which is often alledged by this fort of people: for, fay
they, ic cannot be that thefe books were ever read with that care and
conftancy we fpeak of, becaufe a time can be pointed at, wherein the
laid book was wholly unknown in the kingdom of Judab ; and indeed,
the hiftory plainly informs us, that the book of the law was found again
in the reigri of Jofias ; from whence they infer that, if it were then un-
known, it might as well be forged.
But indeed they may conclude from hence, that which willingly we
allow them, that there was a time wherein ungodlinefs did prevail, and
idolatry was publicly eftablifhed in the kingdom of Judah it felf, yet
can they not from this inftance draw any other confequence which might
fuppoit their pretenfions.
They muit needs acknowledge firft, that the books of Mofes were not
only amongft the three tribes, but alfo amongft the ten, fince th^ time
of their revolt under Rcbokcam ; that thev who were carried by Solnut-
nafar into the land of Ajj'via, had the 'faid books amongft them, as
well as thofe of the ten tribes who were left in their own country.
Thus we fee, that when the king of JJyria fent feme of the pricfts of
'Samaria
Ch. VI. Reflexions ttpon Qenefis. 33$
Samaria to inftruc! the colony which he hail fettled in their country, in
the law of God, it is not laid that thofe priefts went to borrow the law
vt~ Mofes from them of JuJah, nor that the laid law was altogether un-
known in that country; hut only that th<-y had formerly violated the
law of God, in ferving ftrange gods, as they ftill did ; but that, withal,
they kept the law of God, which to this day is yet found among their
pofterity.
Secondly, It isevident that, though the wickednefsand violence of Ma-
naJJ'eb caufed a great change in matters of religion, yet not fo great but
that his fubjecls notwithitanding had ftill the books of Mofes amongfl
them, the blood which he fhed in yerufalem was an evident fign that
there were fome godly men left amongfl them, who continued true to
their religion, and obferved the laws of God. Befides, if we fconfider
his repentance, we muft conclude, that towards the end of his reign
he did in fome degree re-eftablifh the purity of that religion he had be-
fore profaned, a main part of which was the expounding and reading
of the books of Mofes, according to thofe laws before mentioned.
In the third place it is vifible, that the reafon why Hilkiah, having
found the book of the Jaw in the temple as they were cleannngand re-
pairing it, fent the fame to Jofiah, was not becaufe there was no other
iuch buok left in Jurlah, but becaufe the faid book being written by the
hand of Mofes himfelf, there feemed to be fomething very extraordinary
in the finding of it at that very time when they were endeavouring a
reformation ; and it was this circumftance which did in a more parti-
cular manner excite the zeal of this good prince. And indeed, if we
fuppole that "Jofiah had never before feen the boolc of the law, how could
he have applied himfelf to the reforming of his country, his people, and
the temple, in( the manner which is recorded in the book of Kings ?
How could a fufficient number of copies of it bedifperfed over all his
kingdom in an inftant, to inform the people about the ceremonials of the
pafiover, which foon after wa? fo folemnly celebrated by them ? Or,
how is it pomble that the Levites, the priefts, and people, could have
been all of the fudden inftrucfed in all the points to be obferved in the
performing of that holy folemnity.
It is apparent that the facred Hiftorian did' for no other reafon take
notice of this circumftance, that the book found was of Mofes' *s own hand
writing, but to make it appear that their devout refpect for this booi:
was not wholly ftifled, as having been by them carefully hid from the
fury of their idolatrous kings, and laid up in fome fecret place of the
temple, where now they had fo happily found it again.
Over and above what hath been faid already, we are to obferve, that
how great foever the wiclcednefs of the kings oijudah and Ifael was, as
well as that of their objecls, yet the fame generally confifted in nothing
elfe but the imitation of the worfhip of their neighbour nations, as to
fome particulars, which though they were forbid by the law, yet they lefc
the far greater part of their religion in full force. This we have an in-
ffance of in the time of Ahab, where we find Elijah reproaching the If.
raelites with the monftruous alliance thev had made betwixt the worihip
of God and that of Baal, which queen jefabel had introduced.
All
3
236 Reflexions upon Genefis. Ch. VII.
All this clearly proves, that the book of Gene/is, which is the firft of
the books of Mofes, was never fibrged under his name, fince it was always
owned as the writing of that faaious author, and is ftill fo acknowledged
by the Jews at this day.
CHAP. VII.
77*7/ it appears from Genesis, that the Sabbath was conjiantly obferved
from the Beginning of the World until Moses.
THE other objection of the Atheifts (fuppofing that Mofes was
the author of Genefls, as we have now proved) is this, that it
feems abfurd to give credit to the relations of a perfon who lived fo
many age? diftant from the things he recites. To anfwer this objection,
we mud firft of all declare to them, by what means the memory of the
fact which Mofes relates was preferved fo lively and entire as to give
Mofrs fo diftindi a knowledge of them, and that it was not in his power
to forge or add any thing of his own, it being a thing known to the
whole world as well as himfelf.
There is no way whereby we can more folidly evince that it is im-
poflible the creation of the world fhould be forged by Mofes, than by
making it appear, that the law of the fabbath hath a natural relation to
the creation of the world, and that it hath been always conftantly obferved
from that time until Mofes. The fame alfo will help us clearly to con-
ceive after what manner the memory of the promife of the Mejjiah hath
been preferved fo diftin&amongft thofe that lived fince the creation until
Mofes. We are no fooner informed that the fabbath is a folemn day,
ordained at firft to celebrate and perpetuate the memory of the creation,
but we judge it impoflible that fo important an event, commemorated
every feventh day, by virtue of a Divine law, fhould be an impofture.
But forafmuch as this impombility is grounded on thefe two propofitions j
the one, that God gave this law of the fabbath to the firft man ; the
other, that the fame was obferved by his pofterity ever fince, till the time
of Mofes , and that God only removed it in the law given from mount
Sinai : thefe are the truths I am now to clear j and it is of more impor-
tance to be proved, becaufe, though the generality of authors, ancient and
modern, Jews as well as Chrifiians, are of this opinion, yet there are
fome of the Chriftian fathers who fecm to deny that the fabbath was
ever obferved by the Patriarchs. But it will be an eafy matter to prove
from Mofes, that the antiquity of the fabbath is fuch as I afTert, and at
the fame time time to demonftrate the truth of the creation, as well as
of the promife of Meffiah, which in a manner immediately followed
it.
Mofes, in the fecond chapter of Genefls, expreffes himfelf thus : And
God blcffed the feventh day and fanfliflcd it, becaufe that in it be hadrejled
from
Ch» VII. Rt flexions upon Genejis* 237
from all his work, which he had created (a) : which words clearly evince
a folcmn confecration of the feventh day to God's fervice, by its being
made a commemoration of his finifhing the creation of the heavens and
the earth.
But becaufe it may be faid, that the intent of Mofes in this place was
only to fet down the reafon why God fet apart this day, of all others,
to his fervice, by the law at mount Sinai, we are to take notice, that
this appointment was made for man's fake, already placed in the garden
of Eden. This we may gather from the order Mofes obferves : for he
fets down firft the formation of man on the fixth day, and his being placed
in Paradife, which lie gives a more particular account of in the fecond
chapter ; and after thefe, he relates God's refting from his works, and
the confecration of the fabbath, with the reafon of that law which he im-
pofed on man ; and then adds, Thefe are the generations of the heavens and
of the earthy when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the
heaven and the earth. All that precedes thefe words, is only a relation of
what paiTed in the feven firft days ; and that which Mofes fets down con-
cerning God's blefling of the feventh day, and his confecrating it, ought
as well to be accounted a law appointing the feventh day for his fervice,
as thofe other bleflings given to the creatures according to their kinds,
are acknowledged as inviolable laws of God, by virtue whereof they
fubfiit, and are perpetuated, each according to their kind, by the way of
generation.
In the fecond place, it is very remarkable that the Patriarchs main-
tained a public worfhip, at leait fince the time of Seth ; which it was
necefTary fhould be determined to fome certain day; and fince we find
that even at this time they diftinguifhed between hearts clean and un-
clean, with refpe£l to their facrifices, (which they could not do but from
revelation) we have much more reafon to conclude that God had fee
apart a time for his own worfhip and fervice.
And, indeed, there are many evident figns, that even then the feventh
day was obferved (b). I will not here peremptorily aflert that ancient
tradition of the Jews which tells us, that the ninety-fecond Pfalm,
whofe title is a Pfalm for the Sabbath, was made by Adam himfelf, who
was made on the evening of the fabbath : but this I dare allert, that it is
apparent, that what we read in the eighth chapter of Gene/is, (c) about
the deluge, doth refer to this cuftom, where we find Noah fending forth
the dove and the raven on the feventh day, which plainly hints to us his
obferving of that day ; for it feems, that Noah having, in an efpecial
manner, on that folemn day, implored the afliltance of God in the
alTembly of his family, he expected a particular bleffing from it.
And we cannot but make fome reflexion on that which we read in the
xxixth of Genefis concerning the term of a week fet apart to the nuptials
of Leah, where, at the twenty-feventh verfe, Laban thus exprefTes him-
felf: Fulfil her week, and xve will give thee this alfo, for the fervice which
thou fialt ferve with me yet fev:n other years [d). This week here doth fo
plainly fignify a week of days, that it cannot be more naturally expreffed j
and, indeed, all generally underfland by this week of the marriage-feaft
of
(a) Gen.ii. 3. (b) Kimchi Pr*>fat. in Pf almas,
(r) Gen. viii. 10. 12. (d) Gen. xxix, 27.
23^ Reflexion! upon Gehefis. Ch. VII.
of Leah, that term of time which in fuceeeding r.ges hath been cuflomary
to allot to nuptial fcflivals, as appears from the book of F./ihcr, where
the wedding feafl: 6f Vafht'i lafted feven days ; this term offeven days
having fo long fmce been confecrated to nuptiai rejoicings.
The fame we may alio gather from the time which was ordinarily al-
lotted to mourning for the dead ; to which we find the Patriarchs allotted
a term proportioned to that of their rejoicing. For as we fee that the
Egyptians mourned ten weeks for Jacob, becaufeof his quality, as being
the father of J-feph ; {o we find uizt^ofepb, and thole that accompanied
him, mourned ieven days at his interment in the land of Canaan: and
as we find, that this cuftorn was perpetually afterwards obferved by the
yews, as appears from Ecclefajiicus xxii. 12. fo iikewife we find the
fame obferved by the jf/iatics, as may be i'een in the hiflory of jf'rnmianm
Afaree'Iihus, at the beginning of his nineteenth book; and from them it
paffed to the Chrifiians, as we find in St. Ambrcfe (e).
Thirdly, It appears from Exod. vii. 25. that God obferved {even
days ( f) after he had fmote the river to change the waters thereof into
blood ; from whence the Jews conclude, that the three plagues, viz.
that of blood, of frogs, and of lice, abode on the land of Egypt fix days,
and were withdrawn on the feventh, which is the fabbath.
We may alfo gather, if we calculate the time exactly, that the Jews
in Egypt obferved the fabbath. We find from the hiftory of their depar-
ture out of Egypt, that the fame happened on a Tburfday, being the fif-
teenth of the month Nifan ; and the day in which they lung thofe hymns
of deliverance, was the fabbath which God had particularly fet apart for
this week.
It is alfo evident from Exod. xvi. that the keeping of the fabbath was
obferved by the Jfroelites, before the law was given on mount Sinai.
For we find God fpeaking there concerning the fabbath, not as of a thing
newly inftituted, but as of an ancient law, which they were not to
tran fgrefs by gathering the manna on that day ; for he orders them to
gather a double portion the fixth day, and not to gather any on the fe-
venth. We fee that the Ifraelites rcfting on the feventh day is here
luppofed a known and cuflomary thing, prefcribed to them by a lav/ of
old.
They who went forth to gather manna on the feventh dzy are rcpre-
fented as tranfgreflbrs of a known law, as appears from the words of the
Lord to Mofcs. How long refufe yt to r< nandments and my laws?
fifofes alfo fpeaks of the fabbath, which was to be the next day, as of a
thing cuflomary, and received arncngfl them. To-morrow (faith he, at
v. 23.) is the reft of the fabbath of holinefs unto the Lord; words which
would have been unintelligible to the Ifraelites, and exprefied a law alto-
gether impracticable, in cafe they had been cjeflitnte of any further know-
ledge concerning it, and had not been acquainted that it was the very
g..y in which the great work of creation had been finiiiied.
JVly fourth obfervation 1 take from the very words of the Decalogue,
where fir ft of all we find God fpeaking in this 1 , ;nember the
jabbatb
0) Vefid< Situ Sat. p. 321.
(/j Seven days were fulfilled after that the Lord bad fmote
in h, 1.
Ch. VIT. Reflexions upon Genefs, 239
fahbath day (g) ; which words clearly import, that the law he gave, was
not a new law, but indeed as old as the world, and which had been ob-
ferved by their forefathers. Jt fecms probable alfo that God exprefles
himfelf in thefe terms, becaufe the tyranny of Pharaoh had forced them
to break this law, by obliging them to deliver their tale of bricks every
day, without excepting the fabbath, which before he had allowed theni
to keep.
This is explained very diftinclly in the fifth of Exodus, and feems to
have been the occafion of Mofei's demanding ftraw of Pharaoh for ths
Ifraelites to go and facrifice ; in anfwer to which demand, Pharaoh (/;)
exprefles himfelf in terms which fhew that formerly they had obferved a
reft on that day : however it be, yet thus much is apparent, that God
commands them to make their bond fervants to obferve the fabbath, be-
caufe the Egyptians, by their example, inclined them not to be very care-
ful in exempting them from all labour on that day.
Moreover, in the fecond place, we are to take notice, that in the lad:
words of the fourth commandment, God fpeaks of it as of a thing for-
merly appointed and determined by him, faying, For infix days the Lord
made heaven and earth, and rejied the feventh day, wherefore the Lord bleffed
the fabbath day, and hallowed it 3 which words have a manifeft and un-
deniable reference to that which happened the feventh day after the crea-
tion, and to the law then given to man concerning it.
We may gather from the fourth chapter of the epiftle to the Hebrews,
that the fenfe which we have put upon the third veife of the fecond of
Genefs, is the fame which the Jews have always had of it. The Apoftle,
difcourfing from thofe words of David, Pfal. xcv. To whom I fware in.
my wrath, that they flmdd not enter into my rejl, doth fuppofe a threefold
relt; the firft of which is the reft of the fabbath, of which mention is
made in the fecond of Gmefis, where we have the firft inftitution of it ;
the fecond was the reft in the land of Canaan promifed to the Jews upon
their enduring all thofe trials in the wildernefs ; the third, the reft in
heaven, of which the two foregoing were but the figures. He argues
therefore that thefe words of David could not be underftood concern-
ing the fabbath day, forafmuch as from the beginning of the world men
entered into that reft of the fabbath ; and he proves this, by that paflage
in Genefs of which he only cites the hrft words, viz. that God re/led
the Jeventh day from all his works ; as fuppofing that the yews, to whom
he wrote, had no need of having the following words quoted to them,
which telrs us, that God bleffed the feventh day and hallowed it: that i<, he
confecrated the fame to his worfhip and fervice, forafmuch as nothing
was more publicly and univerfally known amongft them, the obfervation
of the fabbath being a thing generally received, even before the giving
of the law.
And, indeed, though Philo thejew be of opinion that the practice of
folemnizing that day had differed fome interruption, and that for this
reafon the lav/ of the fabbath was given to Mofes, yet it is well known
firft of all, that Jri/Iobulus the Peripatetic (i), in a treatife dedicated by
h;m to Ptolemy, furnamed Philadehhus, cites feveral paflages of Homer,
Hefod,
(g) Exod. xx. ?. {b) Exod. v. 5.
(i) Eufb. przep. Evang. 1. 13. c, 12.
2<p Reflexions upon Gencfis, Ch. VIL
Hefiod, and Linus, heathen poets, which mention the feventh day as a
feftival and folemn day, becaufe all things were finifhed in the fame.
In the next place, it is notorious, that if fume of the fathers, as Juflin
Martyr and Tertuliian writing againft the Jews, have denied that the Pa-
triarchs obferved the feventh day, they did fo rather with regard to the
rigour of that law which forbad all manner of work on that day upon
pain of death, (which was fuperadded by God to the firft law of the
fabbath) than to the obfervation of the fabbath, as it was a day appointed
to make a folemn commemoration of the creation of the world.
In a word, we are to take notice, that the difference which God makes
between the fabbath obferved by the Patriarchs, and that which he ap-
pointed to the Jews, did confift in two things. Firft, in that God did
impofean abfoJutc neceflity upon the Jews to abftain from all manner of
work, even to the very dreffing of meat, neceflary for the fupport of
life : we find this diflinction clearly exprefled in the law which God
gave concerning the firft and feventh day of the feaft of unleavened bread ;
for he abfolutely forbids all manner of work on thefe two davs, as much
as on the fabbath, even the preparing of neceiTary food, which he per-
mits the five other days, forbidding only fervile laborious works.
Secondly, In that the working on that day by the law is made punifh-
able with death, which was not fo before; which innovation, and new
rigour of the law, eftabliihed by God, was authorifed by the punifhing
of him who had gathered flicks on the fabbath-day ; whereas we find,
that before the law was given upon mount Sinai, God did not command
thofe Jews to be punifhed with death, who went forth the feventh day to
gather manna, according to their ancient cuftom of drefiing their meat
cm that day.
Let me add this further, that though the Apoflles had abolifhed the
rigour of the law concerning the fabbath, introduced by Mofes, yet they
themfelves obferved it; which practice of theirs, in all probability, gave
occafion to the Chriftians, for almoft four centuries, to keep the fabbath
as well as the firft day of the week, folemnizing both the days, the one
as a commemoration of the creation of the world, and the other of the
refurreclion of our Saviour Jefus Chrifr.
But whatever judgment may bepafled on this laft remark, it is very
evident from Gene/is and Exodus, — firft, that the law of the fabbath was
obferved before Mofes : fecondlv, that this obfervation was by the firft
Patriarchs propagated among the heathens alfo, as well as the idea of the
creation ; or as the practice of facrificing, with the other parts of reli-
gious worfhip, the original whereof may be feen in the book of Genefis,
as we fhall make appear in our following dilcourfe.
After all this, we mull conclude againft the Atheift, that either Mofes
muft have imprudently laid a (hare for himfelf, in forging a matter of
facTt of which not only the Jews, but all the world, were able to con-
vince him, fince there were none amongft them but muft needs be con-
fcious whether they had obferved the fabbath in commemoration of the
creation, as he relates it, or no; or elfe, that the creation of the world,
being a matter of fact fo generally known, and the memorial of it fo-
kmnized every feventh day by all thofe who preceded him, mull needs
be an uueonu-fted and immovable trutb, which I fhall farther evince
by
Ch. VII I. Reflexions upon Gent/is. 241
by thofe obfervations which I fhall raife from the dependence and con-
nexion which the matters related by Mofes in Gene/is have with the crea-
tion, and the promife of the Mejftah. This is my bufinefs at prefent j
in performing of which I fhall make it appear, that nothing can be ima-
gined more rational and coherent than the relations of Mofcs, in which
the Atheifts imagine that they difcover fo great abfurdities.
CHAP. VIII.
That Adam was convinced of his Creation, by Rcafon and Authority.
THOUGH it might be thought more natural, in thefe our
difquifitions about the hiftory of Gene/is, to begin with thofe mat-
ters which happened near the time of Mofes, and from them to pafs to
thofe at a greater diftance ; yet I have chofen rather to follow the thread
of Afojes his difcourfe, hoping that this method will afford more light to
thefe our Reflexions ; at leaft, it will fpare me the trouble of frequent
repetitions, which in the other way I fhould be neceflarily obliged to. I
begin then with this, That Adam was convinced of his Creation, both by
Reafon and Authority.
The creation of Adam being a thing of that nature, that he mud firfl:
be convinced of it himfelf, before he could perfuade his pofterity to en-
tertain the belief of it, it is worth our inquiry to know what ways he
had to afl'uie himfelf that he was indeed created in that manner as Mofcs
relates. And, forafmuch as the certainty of this tradition depends upon
the authority of Adam, whom Mofes fuppofes to have been the firft. deli-
verer of it, it is plain that we muff, be afTured that Adam could not de-
ceive himfelf in this matter, as it is evident enough that he would not
deceive his children, when he took care to inftriidr. them concern-
ing it.
As to his own exiflence, he could not but be as flrongly perfuaded of
it as we are of ours, all the difficulty lying in the manner how he came
to exift. Now, there were two ways by which Adam might inform him-
felf of this, viz. by reafon, and the teftimony of authority. He could
eafily find out this fecret by a rational reflexion j or, he might alio be
perfuaded of it by God himfelf, who had created him, not to mention
now any information which he might have from the angels who were
witnefles of his creation.
It appears that Adam, whofe tradition Mofes has recorded, fuppofes
that he had learnt of God himfelf the manner of his own formation.
God fpeaks to Adam, and fandifies the feventh day j that is, obliges
Adam to keep the memorial of his creation ; he ties him, by a law, to
commemorate his creation fifty-two times a year, and to render him
continual thanks for the being he had received.
But, forafmuch as Adam was capable of making reflexions upon thofe
feveral matters which God had made known to him concerning his
Vol I. Q_ cr.eauon,
242 Rtflexhns upon Gtkejk* Ch. VIII.
creation, I fay, it cannot be imagined, but that he mufl have taken thefe
things into coniickration, and have been convinced or the truth of them
by the light of reafon.
The truth of a relation confiftino; in its conformity with the mat-
ter related, it appears clearly that Adam could certainly know the truth
of what God had declared to him, by examining the things them-
felvcs.
Wc may diftinguifh feveral proportions in the revelation God made
to him concerning the manner of his creation.
The hilt was, That his body was taken from the earth.
The next. That his foul was not framed before his body.
The third, That his foul had been joined to his body, to conflitutc
one individual perfon.
The fourth, That he was created in a full and perfect age.
The fifth, That his wife was formed of a rib, taken out of his fide,
during the time that he was cad into a deep fleep.
Thefe are the truths I propofe as inftances, the rather becaufe there is
not one of them of which Adam himfelf could be a witnefs.
And yet I affirm, there is none of thefe which he could not be afTured
of by the light of reafon, being convinced of them by the fame means
which afTured him of the exigence of his foul and body. The confide-
ration therefore of thefe two matters was of good ufe to confirm the re-
velation which God had vouchfafed him concerning his creation, of
which he could not be a witnefs himfelf.
That his body was taken from the earth, Adam might eafily infer from
the food that maintained it ; for what is the matter of man's nourifh-
ment, but a digefted and difguifed earth ? And finding himfelf, at fir ft,
in a perfect eftate, it was natural for him to judge that his body had
been thus at once framed of the earth, without pafTing thofe feveral
degrees of growth whereby children arrive to their juft ftature.
And he might as eafily be allured, that his foul was not formed before
his body. The foul is a being, confeious of his own operations and
thoughts ; wherefore he needed only make this reflexion :' My foul has
had neither knowledge nor thoughts before it was united to my body ; therefore
my foul did not exiji before it. No great fludy was required to make fo na-
tural a conclufion as this is.
Again, how could he be ignorant of the union of his foul with the
body ? Was it not obvious for him to be allured hereof, by the ready
obedience which he faw his body yield unto his foul ? He had the idea
of a tree, as well as the idea of his foot or arm ; whence it was eafy for
him to reflect thus : How comes it to pafs, that 1 command my feet and my
arms, and that I cannot do the fame to ajlone or tree, though I have the idea of
the one as well as of the other? Muft not this proceed from a nearer
union it hath with the one than with the other ? He knew that this
union continued during his fleep, and was independent of his will.
In a word, he had the fame proofs of this union, which we have of it
at prefent ; only they were in him much more lively, becaufe our infancy
makes us in fome fort ignorant of the nature of our fouls, our fouls ac-
cuftoming themfelvcs, by little and little, to depend upon the fenfes, fo
as
Ch. IX. Reflexions upon Gene fa. 243
as not to be able to raife themfelves, without fome trouble, above their
operations.
Neither was it lefs evident to Adam, that he was produced at a perfect
age. He faw that his food maintained life, and he knew afTuredly that he
had not taken any but very lately: how then could he attain to that
ftature without that help ? Or how was it that he found himfelf now-
ready to faint, if he deferred to take it, which formerly he had not felt
the want of? Thefe reflexions made it unqueftionable to him that he
was formed in a perfect age.
And laftly, it was yet more eafy for him to be perfuaded of the truth
of God's revelation concerning the forming of Eve : he needed but to
count his own ribs and thofe of his wife j for he could not find one
lefs in himfelf than in his wife, without being fully fatisfied in that
matter.
Thefe proportions, with many others of like nature, being fuch as
Adam could be afTured of the truth of, by making reflexion either on
himfelf, or on plants, or living creatures, greatly confirming his belief
in the Divine teftimony concerning his creation, we may ealily infer,
that Adam could not deceive himfelf about that matter.
C H * A P. IX.
That Adam was confirmed, by his own Experience, in the Perfuafton he had
entertained concerning his Creation.
WHEN I take for granted that Adam could fatisfy himfelf con-
cerning the truth of God's revelation, by fome natural and eafy
reflexions, I do not find how any can think ftrangeof this hypothefisj
except fome, perchance, who might think that I make Adam too con-
templative.
But if any will be pleafed to make thefe following obfervations, they
will juftify me, that I have attributed nothing to him but what agrees
exactly with his character.
Thefirftis, That Adam finding himfelf, immediately upon his creation,
at his full and perfect age, he was void of thofe prejudices which the
ignorance and weaknefs of his infancy are the caufe of; his mind was
rot tainted with popular errors, which oft are fo great a hindrance to
the knowledge of truth : he had not yet received any ill imprefllon ; and
when afterwards he was fo credulous as to give way to a temptation, his
experience proved a moft powerful means to inform his reafon, and with-
draw him from his error.
liefides, we fuppofe here, that the Divine t,eftimony which acquainted
him with the particular circumftances of his creation, was precedent to
the reflexions Adam made, and indeed was the caufe of them. If we fup-
pofe fome contryman, not capable of difcovering of himfelf, all on a
0^2 i'udden
24A- Reflexions upon Gene/is. Ch. IX.
fudden, the manner how fuch a thing came to pafs, yet this is certain,
that his reafon alone will be able to fatisfy him whether the thing hap-
pened in that manner which the relation of it imports ; he need but con-
sult the rules of probability, to be determined in this matter.
Adam had not onlv the advantage of being formed at a perfect age, of
being acquainted, by the mouth of God himfelf, about the creation of the
world, cVc. and of living fo many ages, which g3ve him leifure enough
to confider the probability of what God hid revealed to him, to examine
the grounds and certainty of it, and, in a word, to judge whether the faid
reflexions were to be rejected as fabulous, or to be relied on as of moft
certain and evident truth ; but over and above all this, Adam could ratio-
nally affure himfelf of the manner how the things (which he had not
feen) were done, bv the experience he had of other matters which were
comprehended in the Divine revelation.
The manner how his body had been formed of the earth, was, I con-
fefs, a thing difficult to be conceived ; but the production of an infant
like to himfelf, by the way of generation, which he afterwards was
allured of by experience, was fufficient to confirm his mind in the belief
of the Divine revelation ; the way of generation being at leaft as
much, if not more difficult to comprehend, as the manner of his crea-
tion.
We have great reafon to fuppofe that, as it was Adams, duty, fo
he did really make thofe reflexions I have attributed to him, if we con-
sider that God gave him a law proportioned to the ftate in which he was
created ; for this law fuppofes that Adam owned himfelf God's fubject,
that he confidcred God as his great benefactor, that he hoped for rewards
from him, and feared to be punifhed by him.
And laitly, iflfhould grant that thefe reflexions did not at firfr make
fo deep an impreflion in his heart, yet at lead it cannot be denied, but
that after his fall he was in a manner neceffitated to meditate on thefe
truths. God appeared to him in a vifible manner ; God palled fentence
upon him, his wife, and the ferpent ; God condemned the ferpent, and
afforded his grace to man ; God made him a promife proportioned to the
evil into which he was fallen. The woman had deceived her hufband,
which did naturally tend todifunite them ; but God uniting himfelf again
with Adam, made the effect of his promife to depend upon Adam's re-
union with his wife, having allured him that the offfpring of his wife
fhould be his Redeemer. God threatened the woman with extreme pains
in child-bearing ; he drave them out of the garden of Eden, and placed a
flame of fire to guard the entrance there.
All this, without doubt, would never fuffer Adam flightly to pafs over
matters of fo great importance as his creation, and the manner of his
being formed out of the earth. Things being thus Hated, it is eafy to
judge whether we have fuppofed Adam too fubtle and contemplative, by
attributing the aforefaid reflexions to him.
CHAP. X.
Ch. X. Reflexions upon Genefis. 245
CHAP. X.
That the Children of Adam had reafon to be convinced of the
Creation.
IT is apparent, that as foon as the children of jfdam were arrived to
years of underftanding, they were in a condition to make reflexions
on the manner of their production, according to the information re-
ceived of their parents. They were able to compare the twofold original
of man ; the one, in which the body was immediately taken from the
earth ; the other, in which it was produced by generation; and were able
to judge if either of them were improbable; and in particular, whether
the formation of their parents, with other matters confequent, and de-
pending on it, could be fufficiently proved and confirmed.
For it was eafy for them to judge, that their parents, of whofe ten-
dernefs and care they had fo great experience, could not have had the
leaft defign to deceive them in what they had delivered to them concern-
ing the creation. They had alio leifure enough, during the long lives
they enjoyed, to examine the folidity of thofe reafons which perluaded
their parents of the truth of their creation.
For inftance, they could eafily inform themfelves whether there were
any more men and women than their father and mother, that had been
before them ; whether they were produced from the earth, or by a for-
tuitous concourfe of atoms ; whether there were any other language be-
fides that which they fpake 3 whether there were any ruins of buildings,
or other remains, which fignified that arts had been formerly cultivated;
and in a word, whether there were any reafon to perfuade them, that
the world had not its beginning at the time which their parents ailigned.
for it.
Neither were they only in a condition to judge of the truth of thefe
things : but their fenfes were able to convince them of it ; as, for inftance,
by feeing the firft trees, the production of others from them, and the
different degrees of their growth.
But befides all this, they could experience moft of thefe things in their
own perfons ; they could know whether God had affigned to man the
fruit of trees, and grain for their food, as Mofes has recorded, only by
examining their own mouths, which were formed to chew fruits, and
not to tear the rawfk-fh of animals, which requires fharper and ftronger
fets of teeth than thofe they found themfelves provided with, the eating
of flefh not being introduced till after the deluge.
Thus, after the act of generation, they faw their children born, as it
was reprefented to them that they themfelves had been formed.
They had alfo before their eyes fenfible figns of the truth of the mat-
ters related to them : as, for inftance, the continual miracle of a flame of
fire, which kept them from entering into Paradife, was a certain argu-
ment of the firft. fin, of which they had not beeneye-witnefles.
QL3 The
246 ■'Reflexions upon Gene fit. Ch. XL
The pains of a woman in child-bearing did the more confirm the
truth of the Divine fentence, becaufe it was not obvious for them to
apprehend fuch confequences from an act which was pleafing to their
fenfual appetite?.
And laftly, Forafmuch as they kept a folemn day to celebrate the me-
mory of the world's nativity, on which feventh day their parents re-
peated to them no lefs than two and fifty times a year the fame thing,
informing them of the manner of their formation; it is impoffible to
fuppofe that they fhould let thefe things pafs without making any re-
flexion on the truth of them, and the rather becaufe we cannot rationally
conceive that they fhould have been ferious in any duties of religion,
without having fir ft examined the truth of the creation, and of the pro-
mife of a Redeemer, which are the true grounds of all religious acts
whatsoever.
CHAP. XI.
That the Children of Adam were oclually convinced of the Truth of
the Creation^ and the Promife of the Messiah.
I SUPPOSE it is fufficicntly evident that the immediate pofterity
of 'Adam could eafilv be allured of the manner how their parents had
been produced, from whom they derived their beings. They could like-
wife be fully fatisfied about the truth of their fin, and the promife God
had made them, Thai one of their pojierity Jhould dejiroy the enemy of man-
kind.
My bufinefs therefore next, is to fhew that they were actually af-
furcd of the truth of thefe matters : this will appear, if we confider two
things.
The firft is, that as thefe matters were the chief objects of their medi-
tation, becaufe of their extraordinary importance, fo it is evident that
they adted as perfons fully fatisfied of the truth of them.
The other is, that as they had been inftru&ed in thefe truths by their
parents, fo they delivered the fame to their pofterity, to whom they
tranfmitted the belief of thefe matters, as of things altogether unques-
tionable.
I fay then, that they acled as thofe who were fully afTured of the truth
of thefe matters, which appears throughout the whole courfe of their
lives, not only when they did that which was good, but when they were
overtaken with fin : and this alone, me thinks, is fufficient to evidence
the deep impreffion the belief of the creation, and the promife of the
Mrfliah, had made on their hearts.
Sacrifices are a£ts of religious worfliip ; and this cuftom therefore of
facriheing, which we find amongft the Children of Jdam, was an evident
mark of their piety ; and this their religious inclination was, without
doubt,
Ch. XI. ' Re/lexions upon Gene/is. 247
doubt, the effect of their being perfuaded of the truth of the creation'
and firft promife.
The fin of Cain in killing his brother, fhews the fame perfuafion : the
Divine oracle, the feed of 'the xvoman fhall bnife the jerpent's bead, being
exprelYed in very general terms, was applicable either to the firft fon of
Eve, or to his pofterity ; or elfe to fome other who might be called her
feed, becaufe born from one of her pofterity.
It is natural for us to-pafs from one meaning to another, when we are
in fearch for the true fenfe of fuch general proportions as thefe. Now it
appears, from the name which Eve gave to Cain, that fhe took the words
or' this oracle in the firft fenfe, that is, fhe looked upon Cain to be the fon
that had been promifed her, as appears from her own words. I have
(faith (he) gotten a man from the Lord (k). And it cannot be doubted,
that being in this opinion herfelf, fhe was not wanting to cherifh and
flatter this hope in her fon, that he was to fulfil the firft prophefy or Di-
vine oracle : neither is it any whit ftrangerto fuppofe this, than to ima-
gine that JMandane did inftil into her fon Cyrus afpiring rthoughts fo
the empire of A fa, from the dream of his father Afiyages, which (lie looked-
upon as a divine foreboding.
When we read therefore that Cain flew his brother, feeing him pre-
ferred of God by a very diftinguifhing mark in the a£f. of their facrificing,
through the jealoufy and hatred he had conceived againft him, may we
not very naturally conclude from thence, that as he had never doubted
of the truth of the promife, (o he could not endure to fee another come,
to difpute his pretenfions of being the fulfil ler of that firft oracle ?
A like reflexion we may make upon the name which Eve ,gave to Seth;
and indeed the Jews, in their ancient commentaries on Genefis, lead us
to it : She called his name Seth, for God (faid (lie) has appointed me another
feed (/). R. Tanchumah, following the notion of R. Samuel, faith, That
fhe had regard to that feed which was to proceed 'from another, or a
ft range place; and what feed is that? faith he. It is the King, the
Meffiah.
1 pretend not to maintain the folidity of the reflexions they make upon
the words, another feed. They feem rather to have pleafed themfelves
in fporting with a word which admits of both fignihcations, other and
Jlrange, then to give us an exa£f. and diftin£t notion of the importance of
that word. Thus much, at leaft, we cannot deny, but that Eve confi-
dering her fon Seth as him whom God has given her inftead of Abel, fhe
could do no lefs than acquaint him with her hopes ; and indeed, this
information was that which not only difpofed Seth and his pofterity for
piety and the fpirit of religion, but did alfo in a particular manner incline
them to feparate from the race of Cain, as from thofe whom God had
bereft of the right of fulfilling the firft oracle, to which naturally they
might pretend.
It appears from the example of Enoch, that the children of Adam lived
in the exercife of religious worfhip : and we know that the faid worfhip
fuppofeth the creation of the world, and promife of the M<ffiah^ and that
ail the a<Sb of religion areemployed either in commemorating thefe truths
Q_ 4 every
(k) Gen. iv. r.
(/) Rabbolhy fol. 2 J. col. 2. par. 23. ZJ alibi.
248 Refexions upon Gemfs. Ch. XI:
every feventh day, or in unfolding the wonders therein contained, or in
tefti tying our thankfulnefs to God for the fame.
We may add here, that the inftance of Lamecb's polygamy does in fome
fort make out to us the force of this perfuafion.
Cain being rejected by God, and diftinguifhed by an exemplary pu-
nishment, for killing his brother Abel, it is evident that no man could
any longer interpret that promife in the firft fenfc, by applying it to
Adam\ firft fon, or his pofterity. This being fo plain, as none could
be ignorant of it, it was therefore natural to feek for another meaning
of that promife, and to place the fulfilling of it in a pofterity at a greater
diftance, or more numerous.
And indeed fo it happened ; for the exemplary punifhment which God
inflicted on Cain during the feven full generations, according to thofe
words, That he Jhould be punifned jevenfold, made his pofterity appre-
hend, that God (for the fin he had committed) had juftly debarred
him of the right he might otherwife have had of fulfilling the promife.
But yet at the fame time they conceived alfo, that this right, which
belonged more properly to the eldeft or firft-born than to the younger
brothers, was now to return to his pofterity after the feventh generation;
and in this view it feems, that Lamech affected polygamy, as if by mul-
tiplying his pofterity he had hoped to fee that promife fulfilled by fome
one or other of tnem.
It cannot be denied but that he imitated the crimes of Cain, and
therefore may well be fuppofed to have been leavened alfo with his falfe
maxim?. But how greatly foever he was corrupted, yet forafmuch as
he had been educated in the hopes of his father, and in converfe with the
family of Scth, who many ages before had formed public affemblies for
religious exercifes, we cannot well imagine but that he muft have had
the fame pretenfions.
It appears therefore that the polygamy of Lamech may juftly be
efteemed an effect of his mifapprehen lions concerning the fenfe of the
firft promife j thofe means which he conceived molt likely, he made
choice of, to give him a fhare in the fulfilling of that promife which
pointed at a fon to be born. So that the irregularity he was guilty of
in marrying two wives at the fame time, may pafs for a proof of his being
perfuaded not only of the promife, That the feed of the woman Jhould break
the ferpent's head, but alfo of the creation of the world.
It feems that, according to thefe principles, we may give a very plau-
fible account, as well of thofe violences which were exercifed in the old
world, and of their itrong inclinations to fenfuality, as of thofe alliances
between the family of Seth and that of Cain, which did not happen till
feven generations after Cain j that is to fay, at a time when the family
of Cain pretended to be reftored again to his ancient right, from which he
had been fufpended during (even generations : the family of Seth, by thefe
alliances with the family of Cain, feeming defirous to fecure their hopes
and pretenfions. It will not be thought ftrange that I look upon the
jealoufy of Cain towards his brother (as thinking himfelf fupplanted by
him of his right to accomplifh the promife), and the polygamy of Lamech^
as an effect of this perfuafion, if it be confideied, that in all likelihood
this
Ch. XII. Reflexions upon Genefts, 249
this belief was more ft.rong at the beginning of the world, the idea of
the promife being more frefh and lively in the minds of men, as a thing
at no great diftance from thofe times ; and that we find in the holy family
in general, manifold inftances of this fpirit of jealoufy, and burning
defire of a pofterity.
We find alfo, much about the fame time, another Lamech, the father
of Noah (m), declaring by the name he gave his fon, the hopes he had
that he might probably be the perfoh who was to comfort mankind con-
cerning all the milery fin had brought into the world.
Thus it appears clearly, that for above fixteen ages, from the creation
of the world to the deluge, we find in all the actions of the children of
Adam a firong imprcffion of the belief of the creation of the world, and
the promife of the Mejfah; and till this time we find not the leafl in-
stance which might feern to convince the relation of Mofes of the leafi
abfurdity. We fee men acting from the perfuafion of thefe two matters
of fact ; we muft conclude therefore, that they were diftinetly informed
of them : yea, we fee all men in general acting according to this per-
fuafion ; it is evident therefore they were known to all ; and the weekly
obfervance of the fabbath-day continually reprefenting the truths to
the eyes and minds of all, takes away all poffibility of forgery in thefe
matters.
Let us now inquire whether after the deluge thefe ideas were effaced ;
or, whether they have not exerted the fame efficacy in the fpirit of Noahy
and the actions of all his pofterity.
CHAP. XII.
Tlat Noah was fully perfuaded of the Creation of the World, and the
Promife of the Messiah.
IF we find that the children of Adam, and their pofterity, could be
exactly informed of the creation, and the promife of the Mejfiah, and
that indeed they were fo, it will follow, that Noah could not be unac-
quainted with the fame truths.
Noah was fix hundred years old when the deluge came : he had con-
verfed with Lamech his father, who had feen Adam and his children, as.
being fifty-fix years of age when Adam died ; he had converfed with
Methufalem his grandfather, who died that very year the flood came, and
who, being three hundred and forty-three years old when Adam died,
had without doubt instructed Noah during fo vaft an interval of time, in
like manner as himfelf had been inftructed by Adam for many ages.
And as Methufalem had lived a long time with Seth, who died in the
year of the world 1042, fo it is evident that Noah, who was born in the
year
(m) Gen. v. 29.
250 RifleJthm upon Genefis. Ch. XII.
year 1056, had not only fcen Lamech and Mithufalem, but many alfb of
their anceftors, whofe dircourfes he heard, examined their traditions,
and imitatcJ their way of woifhip.
Moreover, Noah faw that there were no men in his time who did not
deduce their genealogy from Adam: all his contemporaries could con-
vince him cf it, every one of them having as exacl: a knowledge of
their anceftors as he could have of his.
Now, that this was a matter which they might be eafily aMured of,
appears on thefe two accounts : the one is, the long life which the men
of that age enjoyed ; and the other, the fhort interval of time which was
between the creation and the deluge, the whole amounting only to 1656
years. Adam died in the year 930, and the deluge happened in the 600
year of Noah's life. Adam died 126 years before the birth of Noah ■> fo
as Adam muff, have been feen and known by Methufalem, Lantech, and
thoufands of others who were contemporaries with Noah.
To thefe we may add a third remark, and that is, the jealoufy and
hatied which was between the two families of Cain and Seth : Cains
pofterity were altogether corrupted, and the greateft part of Setb's alfb.
Noah, being of the pofterity of Seth, had no reafon to call thofe matters
in qucftion, which he faw generally owned and received of thofe to whom
their wickednefs and crimes fuggefted objections againft them. And I do
not know, whether I might not fuppofe that Noah hud before his eyes
Paradiie, with the cherubims who guarded the entrance thereof, and made
it inacceffible ; which, if fo, was an authentic proof of the truths in quef-
tion ; that garden, as far as we can judge, being not deftroyed, nor the
guardian angel difcharged, till the time of the flood.
lie it as it will, yet Noah, being a man fearing God, was honoured
with an extraordinary call to exhort men to repentance; he was com-
manded tobuild an ark ; he faw the deluge happening, according to what
God had foretold ; he faw the beafts, of their own accord, gather them-
felves together, to enter into the ark, in like manner as he had been told
that they came to Adam ; he faw the deluge ceafe, according to the Di-
vine declaration; he faw fire from heaven confirming the facrifice he
offered in acknowledgment to God, in like manner as the words of
Mojes feem to imply that it happened at the facrifice of Abel; he faw
himfelf chofen in a peculiar manner to be the depofitary of the promife
which Adam had left to his pofterity, though he never had the fatisfaction
of feeing it fulfilled himfelf, God having referved the accomplifhment of
it for another time, and to one of his pofterity at a great diftance.
It is very evident that all thefe particulars could not but conduce to
preferve the memory of thefe firft moft important matters of facf of the
creation and the promife of the McJJiah ; and therefore, that Noah muft
of neceffity be convinced of the certainty and truth of them. Let us now
fee whether NoaISs oft'fpring had the fame perfifafion concerning thefe
things.
CHAP. XIII.
Ch. XIII. Reflexion upon Genefiu 251
CHAP. XIII.
That the Children of No AH were convinced of the Truth of theft
Matters.
THE children of Noah were an hundred years old when the deluge
happened, and conlequently had converfed a long fpace of time
with Methufalem, and many other of their anceftors and relations of the
old world, and had frequented the religious afTemblies, obferved every
fabbath-dav in the family of Seth, whence they were defcended, and had
been inftru£ted there by thofe who had feen Adam and his pofterity : it
is evident therefore, beyond all contcft, that they could not be ignorant
of the cieation, and promife of the Mejfiah.
Now, that they had a diftin£t knowledge of thofe matters, we may
evidently conclude, not only b/scaufe they had feen God, when he bleiTed
them, and a fecond time faid to them, as after a new creation, Increase
and multiply («) ; nor only upon the account of his giving them a pofitive
law, forbidding them to eat the blood of living creatures (0), whofe
ftefh they were permitted to feed on, as he had forbid Adam to eat of
the fruit of the tree in the midft of the garden, when he left the reft to
their free ufe : not only for that he had given the rainbow, as a new
fign of his covenant with mankind ; nor only becaufe they had praclifed
thofe acts of religion to which they had been educated by their parents
and anceftors before the deluge: but becaufe the fame may be inferred
from that action which drew upon Cham his father's curfe.
What is the meaning of Cham's deriding the nakednefs of his father,
and of his father's taking occafion from thence to curfe him fo folemnly,
and that in the perfon of Canaan his iirft-born ? It' it were only a piece
of irreverence in the father, what reafon had Noah to curfe the fon on
that account ? Or was it (as fome have fuppofed) that Canaan had
given occafion firlt to his father's irreverence, by acquainting him with,
the diforder in which he had found his grandfather Noah I Without
doubt, there is fomething more than ordinary in this hiftory. Sure it is,
that the account given us of Cham reprefents him as a profane perfon,
and deeply tindtured with the maxims of Cain and his pofterity, and feems
to hint to us, that he fuppoftng the promife of the Mejfiah either fruftratcd
by the death of Abel, or altogether falfe, he made his father's nakednefs
the fubject of his mockery ; who feemed to be incapable of begetting any
more children, and therefore incapable of contributing to the accomplifla-
nient of the promife of the Mejfiah, in hopes of which he accounted
himfelf fo happy that he had efcaped the deluge.
What means italfo, that Noah pronounced fo terrible a curfe again ft
the pofterity of Cham by Canaan, who were fo far from giving an accom-
plifhment to that promife, that they were in a manner wholly extermi-
nated by "Jojhua, when God put the pofterity of Shem by Abraham in
pofleflion of the land of Canaan .? It is very natural for us to conceive,
that
(#) Gen. ix. 1. (0) Gen. ix. 5.
2^2 Reflexions upon Genefls. Ch. XIV.
that Noah confidered his fon Cham's deriding of him, not only as con-
trary to ther?fpect which was due to him as his father, but alfo as the
effect of a horrid impiety, which attacked God himfelf, as making that
promife, The feed of the woman Jhall bruife theferpent's bead, a fubject of
jaillery.
This reflexion upon the action of Cham, and the curfe of Noah con-
fequent to it, does appear very natural, if we confider that AW; could
not but reflect upon the name his father had given him, and the fpecial
favour (hewed to him, in being alone prefervcd of all the pofterity of
Adam, and confequently the only perfon in the world by whom this
promife was to be fulfilled. At leafr, it cannot be denied, but that this
reflexion is as natural as it would have been juff, in reference to the fact
of cruel AJiyages (/»), if, when he had (as he thought) fufficiently eluded
his dream, which prefaged the glory of the fon of Manaane his daughter,
he had found her indecently uncovered, and had taken thence occafion
deridingly to reflect, with his other children, upon a dream which feemed
to promife to the fon of Mandane the throne of all Af:a, and threaten
the ruin of his own.
It is a thing worth our noting, that in the time of Ezra (q) the Sa-
maritans had fo frefha memory of Cham's fin, which they fuppufed to be
generally preferved amongft other nations, that in their letter to king
Jrtaxerxes againft the Jews who rebuilt Jerufalem, they declare, they
would not difcover the king's nakednefs ; implying, that they could not
confent to the injury he might receive from the J^ws in fuffcring Jeru-
falem to be rebuilt. It is not needful to repeat thofe other arguments
which prove that the chidren of Noah had reafon to be, and were ac-
tually as much convinced of the creation and firff. promife as their an-
ceftors were ; for, feeing that thefe arguments were the very fame which
their fathers had to perfuade themfelves of the truth of thefe things, we
had better proceed to the inquiry, whether their pofterity that followed
them, had the fame perfuafion they had ? which may eafily be proved,
in making fome reflexions on the following ages, and upon thofe who
defcended from Noah and his children.
CHAP. XIV.
That the Pojhriiy of Noah's Children were perfuade d of the Truth of tht
Creation, and fir Jl Promife.
IF Noah faw Metbufalem, who had feen Adam and his pofterity be-
fore the deluge; Abraham faw Shem and his children, who were
unqueftionable witnefles of what had pafTed before and lince the flood.
Noah
(p) Horcd, lib. i. Juftin Hi/?, lib. i. VaUr. Max. lib. I.
(y) Ezra iv. 14.
Ch. XIV. Reflexions upon Genejis. 253
Noah dying 350 years after the deluge, it appears that his death hap-
pened in the year of the world 2006 j Co that Noah died only two years
before the birth of Abraham, he being born in the year 2008.
Abraham lived 15O years with Shem, who dud in the year 2158, and
88 years with Arphaxad the fon of Shem, who died in the year 2096 ; he
lived 118 years with Selah fon of Arphaxad, who died in the year 2126,
and 179 years with Heber the fon of Selah, who died in the year
2187.
Jfaac being born in the year 2108, might fee Shem, Selah, and Heber,
who for fome hundreds of years had converfed with Noah and his other
children ; I fay, we may fuppofe him to have converfed with thofe patri-
archs, or at leaft with thofe who, being their contemporaries, difcourfed
of Noah as a man but of yefterday, and from his relation and his chil-
dren's were informed of the creation of Adam, his fall, the promifeof
the holy feed, the death of Abel, the miracle of Paradife, the preaching
of AW;, the deluge, Sic. and who, in obedience to the law of God,
obferved by their anceftors, did meet together fifty-two times every year,
to celebrate the memorial of thefe wonders, and to teach them to their
pofterity.
We may take notice of three things here which conduce much to the
prefervation of a diftincl: knowledge of thefe matters.
The firft is, That the ark itfelf might be feen by all the world, as a
certain monument of the deluge, and the faving of Noah and his fons (r).
This monument continued very many ages after Abraham, and was a
means to preferve the memory of the deluge amongft the Pagans, as Lu-
dan, to name no more, acquaints us.
The fecond is, That it was as eafy for any of Abraham's contem-
poraries, as for Abraham, to deduce his genealogy from Noah and his
children.
And this was the more eafy, becaufe the firft divifion of the world
among the three fons of Noah, was followed by another partition amongft
their pofterity, in the year of the world 1 758 ; a divifion which o-ave
thema juft title of pofleffion to that part of the earth where they werer
feated ; in defence of which, it feems probable that the war of Chedo -
laomtr (mentioned the xiiith of Genefis) was undertaken, the family of
Cham having invaded the land of Canaan, which was part of the inhe-
ritance of Shem, as we fha!l make appear elfewhere.
The third and laft thing is, That it was not eafy to impofe a forgery
upon thofe times, becaufe their lives were yet of a great extent, though
inferior to thofe who lived before the flood.
To thefe we may add this further confideration, that as the jealoufy
which was between the family of Setb and Cain was a great means to
preferve inviolably the important truths of the creation and firft promife;
a like jealoufy now being rifen amongft the fons of N:ah, Cham being
accurfed of his own father in the perfon of Canaan, and the fame being
propagated to their poiterity, it could not but effectually contribute to
refcue thefe important truths from oblivion, and particularly the promife
of the Mcjjiah, conceived in thefe words, The jeedof the woman /hall bruife
the jer pent' s head.
In
(r) De Dea Sjra, p. 1060.
254 Reflexions upon Genefis, Cr-f. XV.
In a word, we may not only, in reference to the matter in hand, take
notice of what Lucian relates concerning the religion of the AJJ'yrians (s~) ,
which did fo lively preferve the memory of the deluge, and of what was
done to Noah by his fon Cham, when he fcoffed at the nakednefs of his
father (r) ; but alfo, that the God of the Sichemites was called Baaibcrith*
whofe fymbol was the figure of the privy parts of a man, which feems a
manifefr allufion to their defcent from the family of Chanty the Sichemites
being fome of the pofferity of Canaan.
It is alfo very natural to conceive, firft of all, that it was from thofe
old pretentions that the Canaanitcs took occalion to profane the mod
holy things with fuch fhameful ideas.
Secondly, That it was in dettftation of thefe ideas, that God ordered
the killing of the priefts of Baal. And,
Thirdly, That it was for the fame rcafon, that the "Jews were com-
manded to deffroy them utterly.
Fourthly. This was alfo the reafon why the Jfraelites were fo often de-
ilrous of imitating their crimes.
In the fifth place, as we fee that upon the like account the Moabites
and Ammonites took Chemojh for their god, and that the women of thofe
nations were very zealous to propagate their religion, of which we have
an inftance in Jtzabel, the wife of Ahab, fo God was alfo willing to in-
fpire his people with horror and deteftation for their religion or any al-
liance with them.
Laftly, as there does appear a very great conformity and refemblance
between the firft birth of the world from the firft chaos, and its being
born again after the deluge ; between Adam the firft man, and Noah the
fecond ; and between the jealoufies fprungup in both their families upon
the account of the promife of the Mejftah\ fo this conformity could not
but very naturally contribute to preferve the memory of thofe ancient
events which Noah and his children had delivered to their pofterity with
all the care which is taken to preferve the tradition of the fundamentals
of religion.
CHAP. XV.
That we find the Family of Abraham, and his Pofterity till Jacob, fully
perfuaded of thofe Truths.
IT is no lefs eafy to conceive how the diftin£t knowledge of thefe
truths was in procefs of time handed down to Jacob and his pof-
terity. This I (hall briefly explain.
I need
(j) Jodg. viii. 23. & ix. 8. Talm. liter, fol. II> col. 4. & glojf. in h. I.
& A<vodaz.c.ra, c. iii. fol. 43. col. I.
(r) DeDea Syr. p. 1069.
CH. XV. R/fiexhns upon Genefiu 255
I need not take notice here, that the religion pra&ifed by Abraham
and his pofterity, fuppofe thole matters as conftantly owned and known.
It cannot be denied, but that Lot, having followed Terah and Abraham
when God called the latter out or" Chaldea, might thence fuppofe, thaC
this heavenly call did feparate and diftingujih him from the reft of the
pofterity of Shcm, and gave him a right, as well as Abraham, to pretend
to the privilege of fulfilling the promife of the Mejjiah, or at leaft to fee
it fulfilled in his pofterity. This we may infer from the inceft of Lot's
daughters : their crime, which in another view appears very monftrous,
doth clearly prove, that they were ftrongly poflefled with this hope, which
their father had raifed in them.
I know that fome interpreters fuppo/e («), that they were moved to
commit this inceft from a pious intention of preferving mankind, as ima-
gining to thcmfelves, that as the deluge had drowned all men, befides
Noah and his family, fo the flames which deftroyed Sodom had con fumed
all mankind ; which they were the more ready to believe, becaufe they
might have heard from their father, that the world one day was to perifii
by fire. But indeed it may be confidered as proceeding from a very dif-
ferent motive, the Jezviflj doctors (x) plainly averring, that this was done
by them in hopes of bringing forth the promised Redeemer.
And if we look upon this action of theirs in this view, with reference
to the promife of the MfJJiah, which was the grand object of the hopes of
all thofe that feared God; it is natural to conceive, that confidering
their father as one whom God had peculiarly chofen from among the
pofterity of Shem, to execute the promife of the MeJJluh, and feeing that
their mother was changed into a ftatueof fait, they conceived themfelves
in fome fort authorifed to furprife their father in that manner; and the
rather, becaufe they conceived on the one hand, that none cf the Ca-
naanites (upon whom God had now begun to pour forth fo hideous a
vengeance, as a beginning: of the execution of the curfe againft Cham)
having any part in this chiefeft of blefiings, could ever marry them, after
that God had fo manifeitly feparated and called forth their father from
amongft them ; and on the other hand, fuppofing that God would dif-
nenfe with the irregularity of this action, by reafon of their being re-
duced to an extremity. '
There be three circumftances which greatly confirm this my remark
upon the motive of their inceft.
The firft is, That they are reprefented to us as thofe who had behaved
themfelves very chaftely, in the mid ft of the impurities of Sodom; and
that befides we find they defigned no fuch thing, till after the death of
their mother.
. The other is, That we fee them contriving the thing together, and
that in a matter which naturally is apt to feparate the greatcft friends,
where the motive proceeds from a fpirit of uncleannefs j nor indeed do
we find that they continued in this inceft.
The third is, That they were fo far from being afhamed of an action
in itfelf fo criminal, or concealing the knowledge of it from pofterity,
that they gave thofe names to the children born of this their inceft, that
might
(*) Lyra in Genef. xix. {x) Berrf. Rah. part 23.
2$(t Reflexions upon Genefts. Ch. XV,
might perpetuate and divulge the memory of this their action, the one
calling her fon Moab, as much as to fay, born of my father, and the other
her's Benammi, a name of a like fignification with the former.
Thisobfervation is very neceflary, becaufe theft two fons became the
heads of two great people, the Moabites and the Ammonites, whnfe king-
doms lafted above 1300 years, and lived on the borders of the holy land,
and were jealous of Abraham and his pofferity, as pretending that Abra-
ham could not be chofen before Lot their father, who, being the fon of
Abraham % eldeft brother, was to be considered as the firft-born of Terah;
and who were apt, without doubt, to take it for granted, that if God
had brought Abraham out of Chaldea, and refcued him from Ur, he had
in a more peculiar manner faved Let alone from the conflagration of
So.tcm, by the miniftry of angels ; and that Abraham and Lot being equally
defcended from Terah, the right of accomplishing the promife did equally
belong to them.
And indeed we find that in all fucceeding times thefe thoughts did
predominate with them, as may eafily be made out from the hiitory of
Balaam.
We fee therefore, that the Moabites, who were defcended from the eldeft
daughter of Lot, looked upon the pretenfions of the Ifraelites, that the
Mejjiah was to be born of their feed, in exclufion to all others, with great
impatience ; and it was for this reafon that they fent for Balaam, to de-
cide (by Divine authority) the difference between them, concerning the
right or the promifed blefling.
We may make very near the fame reflexions upon the calling of Ruth
the Moabitefs, when me faith to Naomi her mother-in-law, Thy God Jhall
be my God, and thy people /hall be my people; which Signifies a renouncing
of the pretenfions of her own people, and an acquiefemg in the juftice of
thofe of the Ifraelites-, and it was upon this occafion, that Ruth is more
particularly taken notice of in the genealogy of our Saviour, as I (hall
have occafion to mew hereafter.
That which 1 have hinted concerning the intention and aim of the
daughters of Lot, hath been obferved before by the Jtwif? Rabbins, as
we may fee in the mo ft ancient of their Commentaries upon thefe words
of Ger.efis, chap. xix. v. 32. Come, let us make our father drink wine,
&c. Upon which words, R. Tanchumah, following the footfteps of
R.Samuel, makes this reflexion : That we may preferve feed of our father; it
is not faid, that we may preferve a fon from our father, but that we may
renew the pofterity of our father, becaufe (faith he) they had regard to that
feed which was to proceed from ajlrange place ; and what feed is that ? It is
the King Mefliah.
After thisobfervation upon this action of Lot's daughter?, it can nr»-
longer rationally be doubted, but that the violent paifion which Sarah
had for a fon, proceeded from the very fame imprclfion which made her,
contrary to the inclinations of that fex, to deliver her fervant into
her hufband's bofom, efpccially if we join to this the particular pro-
mife God had made to Abraham, which fhe could not be ignorant
of.
Sarah fees herfelf deftitute of children ; and her barrennefs having con-
tinued (o long a time, {lie had no hopes of eva btinga mother: what
a remained
Ch. XV. Reflexions upon Genefts. 257
remained therefore for her, but to think of adopting a fon of her bond-
woman ? And in confideration of this, {he perfuades her hufband, who
had no inclination to any fuch thing by any thing that appears (at lcaft
precedent to thisdefire of his wife), to take her unto him. He fought the
feed of God) that is, the feed which God had promiied, as Malacbi ex-
prefTes it, Mai. ii. 1 5.
At leaft it is certain, that the Jews have taken thefe words of Ma-
lachi (x) in this fenfe for a very long time, as they do Hill to this
day.
We may eafily perceive, that this was a predominant impreffion
throughout that whole family, if, to what we have already obferved of
Lot's daughters and of Sarah, we do but add the forrow Rebecca conceived
becaufe of her barrennefs, and the contentions happening between
the wives of Jacob for their hufband's company; without which fup-
pofal, the relation of fuch a matter would be a thing of no import-
ance.
Certainly, as it would be ridiculous to fuppofe that fo wife an hifto-
rian as Mofes was, fhould {loop to the recital of fuch mean and low par-
ticulars (not to fpeak worfe of them) without aiming at fomething very
high and confiderable, fo it is rational to believe that in all thefe rela-
tions he pointed at the promife of the M.Jfiah, which at that time was
the great object of the religion of the faithful, which God in procefs of
time did explain by little and little more diftin&ly.
Thejealoufy alfo which arofe between Ifhmael and Ifaac, is no lefs
confiderable. I/hmaelv/as theeldeft fon of Abraham^ and circumcifed as
well as Ifaac ; he was faved from death by the mir.iftry of an angel ; and
was the head of a great people, who from that time to this very day
have always been circumcifed.
It may be alfo of great ufe to take notice here, that Ijlmidel could not
but be inftructed by Abraham concerning the promife God had made to
him, to which he pretended, as being the elder^ and therefore mocked
at the great ftir was made at the weaning of Ifaac, as thinking that he,
being the eldeft, could not be deprived of the natural right of his pri-
mogeniture. At leaf!, it is very probable, that except it" had been thus,
Sarah's anger (approved by God himfelf) would not have proved fo vio-
lent, as well againft Ifhmael as Hagar, who flattered him in thefe preten.
fions, nor would Abraham (o far have complied with it.
And forafmuch as Ifaac, on the other fide, was born to fulfil a parti-
cular promife, was circumcifed, and faved from death by an angel ; and
that, befides all this, Jfimael and he had been equally.educated in the prac-
tice of religion ; it is impofiiblebut that this conformity of events (which
has been the caufe of fuch laiting contefts between them and their pof-
terity) muft have engaged them to inquire into the truth of the creation,
and the promife of the Mcffiah, and into all ether matters which did any
Way concern them.
We have a like inftanee, if not ftronger for our purpofe, in Efau and
Jacob, who were both born of thle fame mother; but Efciu being the
hrfl-bom, we find the fame jealoufy arifing between them, as before
between
(x) Targ. Jonath, in h. 1. fcf Kimchi in h. 1.
Vol. I. R
258 Reflexions upon Genefls. Ch. XV.
between Ifmnael and //a<w. &?rtf/; feemed fomewhat cruel in caftingout
her adopted ion ljhmael\ and here we fee that Rebecca preferred Jacob
before Efan her firft-born, and aflifted him in robbing his elder brother
of the blefling due to him of right : but without queftion, her defign in
all this was to entail this blefling on her family, by making it fall on
"Jacob, as being afraid (and that not without caufe) that Efau, by his
fins and his marriage with the Canaanitcs, had made himfelf incapable
thereof.
Now as this was the occafion of a great difpute between thefe two
Patriarchs educated in the fame belief and religion, fo it plainly fhews us
how ftrong aperfuafion they had of the creation, and the promifeof the
Mefliah.
And befides, it is further very remarkable,
Firfl:, That Mofes reprefents Ejau as a profane perfon j for which, not
only this reafon may be alledged, that he fold his birth-right for a mefs
of pottage, to which birth-right the priefthood was always annexed ; but
we muft further take notice,
That he being educated by 'his father in the hopes of this blefling, he
feemed to laugh at it in all his actions ; for firfl: he married the daughter
of Heth, by which he Sufficiently intimated that he neither minded the
blefling nor the curfe of God ; for Canaan and his pofterity had in a very
folemn manner been curfed by Noah, with a particular regard to the pro-
mife of the MeJJiah, as I hinted before.
In the fecond place, he married a daughter of Jfhmael, as if he intended
to renew the pretenftons of IJbmael againft Ifaac his father.
In the third place we fee, that when he repented of this profane
humour, he was pierced with extreme i'orrow for the crime he had com-
mitted, becaufe he could not obtain pardon for it.
This jealoufy and difference between EJau and Jacob, is the more
confiderable, becaufe Efau was the head of a great nation, viz. the£</j-
mites, a people circumcifed as well as the Jnus, jealous of the pofterity
of Jacob, and living upon the borders of Judea, as well as the Moabites,
Ammonites, and Ifhmacliies, but yet put by their hopes by that oracle, The
greater people Jkall ferve the lejfer.
Were it needful to afford a greater light to thefe reflexion?;, I might
here add a very natural one, from the oath which Abraham made his ier-
vant Eliczer take, when he fent him to PaJan-Aram, to procure a wife
for Ifaac. We may eafily iudgethat he was not willing he fhould marry
a Ganaanlte, as Lot had done; and that, for fear of forfeiting his hopes,
and weakening the juffc pretentions of Ifaac to the right of accomplishing
the prom ife, from whence the Canaanitcs were excluded by the prophecy
delivered by Noah. But that which made Abraham to oblige his fervant
to fwear, putting his hand under his thigh ; that ic, touching that part
which was the fubjeCt of circumcifion {y), and which bore the mark of
the covenant ; deferves a further consideration.
We find firfl: of all, that the Patriarch Jacob obferves the fame cuf-
tom, when he made his fon Jofeph to take an oath, that he fhould not
bury him in Egypt.
Secondly, We find that thi3cufiom of beholding that member which
received
(>) St. Jerom.
£h. XVI; Reflexions upon Genefts, 259
received circumcifion, as a part confecratcd to religion, did by little and
little take place in the land or" Canaan, and gave occafion to the worfhip
of Baal Ptor, fo famous among the Moabites and Ammonites ; a very iur-
prifing and ftrange worfhip indeed, and yet celebrated with feitivals
and hymns, and was the rife of that worfhip which the heathens after-
wards gave to Priapus. What 1 have here obferved, hath been in part
acknowledged by the Jews, where they fpeak of the worfhip of Baal
Peor, and the reafon which made God prefcribe to the prieft the ufe of
linen drawers, that their nakednefs might not appear during the functions
of their miniftry. s
After all that I have now faid, concerning thofe jealoiifies which Mofes
relates with fo much care, it feems that the folidity of thefe obferva-
tions cannot be difputed $ efpecially if we confider, that it is thefe jea-
loufies, and thefe pretenfions to the promife of the Meffiah, that gave rife
to the cuftom of calling God, the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac,
and the God of Jacob : for though he might as well have been cailed the
God of Adam, the God of Enoch, and the God of Noah, forafmuch as
all thefe Patriarchs were alio depofitaries of the promife of the Meffiah ;
yet it is probable that God was called fo, becaufe of the particular pro-
mifes which had been made, firfr. to Abraham, fecondly to Ifaac, and laftly
to Jacob, and in oppofition to the pretenfions of fome people near neigh-
bours to the Ifraelitcs, and jealous of their hopes : the God of Abraham^
and not of Lot, as the Ammonites and Moabites, Lot's pofterity, pretended ;
the God of lfaac, and not of IJhmael, as the Jjhmaeiites pretended ; the
God of Jacob, and not of Efau, as the Edomites, who were the offspring
of Efau, pretended.
CHAP. XVI.
That this very Pcrfuafwi feems to have been kept up amongfl the Pojleri-iy of
Jacob, until Moses's Time.
IT is yet eafier to fhew, that the diftin£r. knowledge of the creation,
and of the promife of the Mejfiah, did continue from Jacob to Jofephy
and fo on to Mofes.
The following arguments will clearly demonftrate it.
Firft of all, we fee that Jacob (z) being poffeffed of the bleffing, and
fo depofitary of the promife, obeyed Ifaac's command, who forbad him
tb take a wife, but out of his own family ; and that accordingly he went
to Padan-Aramt to feek and get a wife amongft thofe of his kindred,
as Abraham had formerly fent for one of the fame country for his fon
Ifaac.
We fee, in thefecend place, this Patriarch imitated Lamcch (a) in fome
refpe£c, by his falling into polygamy : for who can doubt but he who
Was confeious to himfelf of having furprifed, as he thought, the bleffing
R 2 defigned
(«) Genef. xxviii, («) Genef. xxix.
255 Reflexions upon Cenefts. Ch. XVT.
defigned for his elder brother, did act in this occafion by the fame prin-
ciple which Lantech had formerly acted by ? Thus we fee that barren
Rachel follows Sarah's example, and adopts the ion of that maid-fervant
whom file gave to "Jacob \ wherein Leah followed her, and gave one of
her maids to her hufband : all this was evidently grounded upon the
fame principle which afterwards bred thofe diflenfions betwixt Jacob's
wives about the getting children by him ; for it is very natural to
believe, that Jacob did not conceal from his wives his advantages and
hopes.
It appears that Jacob's children, which were born, for the moft part,
in Labans houfe in Chaldea, where they had feen Abraham's native
country, and thofe of their own kindred, from among whom God had
commanded Abraham to depart, and to go into Canaan, did entertain
very lively notions of thofe important truths, efpecially after they were
ifrengthened and confirmed by the cares and inftructions of old ljaac, to
whom they were brought by Jacob ; and after they began to practife in
Canaan the worfhip and religion of their own family, and to compare
it with the doctrine they had learnt in Chaldea*
Thofe feveral voyages which God obliged the Patriarchs to undertake,
as that of Abraham out of Ur of Chaldea, that of Jacob out of Canaan,
(we ought to make the fame judgment of Afofes's forty years fojourning
amongft t\\c_Midianites) did evidently oblige them to examine more care-
fully what was the tradition received in the feveral countries into which
they travelled, and (o to imprint the more deeply into their minds the
belief of thofe important truths which were the foundation of their re-
ligion, and the fole object of the meditations of the faithful.
One fees, in fhort, the effects of thefe impreffions,
1. Bv that cuftom which feems to have begun in Jacob's time, and
which afterwards got the authority of a law ; I mean, the cuftom of
taking to wife oneTs own brother's widow, to raifehim up feed.
2. "The fin of Onon is reprefented fo odious, only becaufe by it he
acted ngainft the belief of the promife.
3. We fee the fame thing in the action of Thamar, Judah's daughter-
in-law ; for having been deceived by Judah, (he, in exchange, furprifed
him into an inceif, the commiflion whereof, according to the obferva-
iion of a Greek commentator (b), fhe fought to perpetuate, only becaufe
ihe had a vehement defire to get children out of a family which fhe looked
upon as folely intruded with the promife of the Mejfjiab, and out of which
he was accordingly to be born.
It is neceffary to make that obfervation, becaufe we ought always to
remember that fhe was formerly a Canaanite, and that consequently fhe
left off and renounced the impiety and idola-ry of her kindred, when fhe
embraced the religion and hopes cf Jacob's family. Therefore we fee
that particular mention is made of her in our Saviour's genealogy, and
cf Ruth, who likewife gave over all the pretenfions of her own people,
and fo forfook her religion to enter into the tribe of Judah, as well as of
ISathfiebab, who was wife to a Hittite ; whereupon an ancient father hath
scry well obierved (t), according to the Jevjijb opinion, that Shimeirs
reviiings
{b) Tbeopb.m Mat. c. i.
(<■) S. Hieronyn. in Tradit, Ikb, ad I, Reg. 5.
Ch. XVI. Reflexions upon Genefi, zSt
revilings againft David, when he went out of Jerufalem, during Abfa-
Jom's rebellion, reflected upon his birth out of the pofterity of Ruth the
Moalitefs, as the Jews even to this very day do underftand it.
We may make the fame reflexion upon the confideration of that
implacable jealoufy which Jofeph's dreams raifed in the minds of his
■brethren.
I. We may reafonably conceive, that he being the flrft-horn of Rachel,
and the wife which Jacob his father had firft made love to, he had been
brought up with hopes of the birth-right, as well as Ifaac, who was but
the fecond fon of Abraham.
But, 2. He might befides very well fuppofe, that the crimes of his
brethren born of Leah (whom in all likelihood he looked upon as the fole
legitimate heirs, the others being born of maid-fervants) did rank therm
with Efau, whom God had rejected. That outrageous fury which Jofeph's
brethren (hewed againft him, becaufe they looked upon him as preferred
of God by thofe dreams to thofe that were born before him, is fo like
that of Cain, of Lot, of Iftmael, and of Efau, that it had, in all probabi-
lity, the fame caufe and original.
Do we not fee afterwards another effect of the fame jealoufy in the
affectation that jfor<?£ and his family fhewed in the land of Egypt, when
they refufed to live promifcuoufly with the Egyptians, which were the
pofterity of Ham, and begged of them a country where they might live
by themfelves ; as we fee, on the contrary, the Egyptians fhevving an ex-
treme averfion againft Jacob and his family, which was of Shem's pofte-
rity f
Certainly it cannot be denied, that as this feparation was an efFetfx of
the antipathy of thofe nations, fo it might alio be in fome refpe£t the
confequence of Jacob and his children's pretenfions upon the promifeof
the Meffiah, the execution and accompliihment whereof they ftood up
for as belonging to themfelves. 9
To all this we may add, that the perfecution of the Egyptians zgzmft.
the Israelites obliged them to make particular reflexions upon the promife
which Jacob on his death-bed made to them from God : that perfecution
was chiefly intended againft the the male children, Pharaoh commanding
the extirpation of them, becaufe he was afraid of the Jews growing too
ftrong for him, and of their joining with his enemies ; and perhaps alfo,
becaufe the yews entertaining a certain expectation of the MeJJiah's co-
ming, and fo boafting and glorying of it upon all occaiions, the Egyptians
deiigned to fruftrate and cut off their hope thus, by hindering the ac-
complishment of the promife.
However, there was no real difficulty to keep up the diftincr. remem-
brance of thofe important fa&s. Jacob died in the year of the world
2315; Jofeph died in the year of the world 2428. There are then but
58 years between Jofeph's death and Mofes's birth : Mofes might have
teen not only Amram his own father, who had feen Levi, but alfo Kohath
his grandfather, who had (ten Jacob.
And it is for that reafon that Mofes feems to have obferved, that
Jofeph faw his own children's children (d) j that is to fay, the third ge-
iisjation.
R 3 One
(i) Gen. 1. 23.
16a Reflexions upon Geneflsi Ch. XVII,
One cannot imagine any circumftances more eonducible than thefe,
to the preferving the diitincl knowledge of thofe important truths which;
were the foundations of religion.
CHAP. XVII.
That the Tradition which gives us an account of the Perfuafion which the
Ancients had of the Truth cf the Creation of the IVorld, and of the Promife
of the Messiah, before Moses, cannot befufpefied.
I HAVE fhewed, I think, evidently enough, that both the Creation,
and the Promife of the Meffiah, with all the other things depend-
ing upon them, might have been known certainly by Adam and his chil-
dren, and fo afterwards be handed down to all his pofterity till Mofes's
time.
From Adam to Noah there is butpne man, viz. Methujehh, who joined
hands with both.
From Noah to Abraham there is but one man, viz. Shem, who faw them
both for a confiderable time.
From Abraham to Jofeph there is but one man, viz. Ifaac, Jcfep/fs
grandfather.
From Jofeph to Mofes there is but one man, viz. Amram, who might
have feen Jofeph long enough.
Thofe characters of time which Mofes hath fo carefully obferved, do
plainly evidence that jhe creation, and the promife of the Mejftah, might
be diftinclly known ; for if we fuppofe a continued fucccilion of Adam's
offspring, it was not eafy to impofe upon men in that matter ; and that,
becaufe every one of thofe who were contemporaries with Mofes, being
able to run up his own pedigree as far as the Hood, nay, even up to
Adam, by as compendious a way as Mofes could do his own, they would
have treated thofe with the utmoft degree of fcorn, who fhould have
attempted to forge any thing contrary to what was publicly and univer^
fally known ; and fo it was equally impoflible, that the truth of things
fo important as the creation and the promife of the Meffiah were, fhould
be unknown.
Bi-fides, I think I have plainly fhewed, that many actions recorded
by Mofes, though very ft range in themfelves, and which the Atheifts
look upon as abfurd and ridiculous, have proceeded from no other prin-
ciple than fromthe ftrong perfuafion of the truth of thofe facts, according
as, in along feries of ages, everyone of the ancients, following his own
humour and preju licds, Framed 10 himfelf a particular idea differing from
the true fenfe of the promife of the Meffiab.
It cann t re; l" trebly be objected, that all this is only grounded upon
. ty of tradition ; for though I grant that tradition,
Mirer nature, be dubious and uncertain, and not to be
too
Ch. XVIII. Reflexions upon Genefis. 263
too much relied upon in matter of belief, yet this hath fuch very parti-
cular characters as keep up its own authority.
Firft, it fuppofeth a fmall number of perfons from Adam to Mofes%
who put it it) writing.
Secondly, it fuppofeth, that thofe who have preferved this tradition,
lived very long, and for the moft part for many centuries of years.
Thirdly, it relates to fuch fads as every one is defirous to be rightly
informed of, and which he is particularly concerned to examine, as
relating to his own private intereft, becaufe they are the principles of
his actions, and the rules of his conduct both in civil and religious
matters.
Fourthly, it fuppofeth fuch real marks as ferved to keep it up; fuch
as, the pains of child-bearing, the paradife before the flood, the duration
of the ark after the flood.
Fifthly, it fuppofeth a public fervice and wor/hip, whofe celebration
is repeated fifty- two times a year, that the remembrance of it fhould be
preferved by all pofterity.
Sixthly, it was preferved entire by paflsng from father to fon ; and we
know that fathers or mothers do not naturally engage in a defign of de-
ceiving their children.
Seventhly, it fuppofeth ftrange controverfies betwixt brothers, the
elder having almoft been excluded, and the younger, as Abel, Sethy
Abraham, Ifaac, Jacob, Judah, chofen to accompli (h the promifeofthe
Mejfiah, which bred great jealoufies, and tended much to preferve thofe
ideas of the truth.
Laftly, it fuppofeth great contefts betwixt whole nations, who all
ftrove one with another for the advantage of being the heirs of the pro-
miff, and depofitaries of thofe verities ; as the Moabites, for inftance, the
Ammonites, the Ijhmaelites, the Edomites, and the Jeius : each of them
pretending to a preference before the others, by God himfelf, and fo
making it a matter of credit and honour to themielves. All thefe cha-.
racters contribute to the diftincT: prefervation of the knowledge of any
fruth.
CHAP. XVIII.
An Explication of Moses'j Way of Writing-, where it is Jhewed, that in
writing the Book of Genesis he mentioned nothing but what was then
generally known.
THIS is a truth which at firir. I took for granted, and afterwards
-proved it, the reafons whereof I explained particularly as I went
on. But it ought to be fixed as folidly as the matter will bear, becaufe
it often happens, that thofe who do not forefee the confequences which
may be drawn from the contrary opinion, do contradict it before they
are aware of it; and that too, under pretence of exalting the Divine
R 4. authority
264. Reflexions upon Geneful Ch. XVIIT.
authority of the hook of Gene/Is : which gives occafion to the Atheifts to
look upon it no otherwifc than as learned men do on the greateft part of
legends.
The prophetical fpirit acts in two manners.
The fir ft is, by way of revelation, in refpeel of thofe things the prophet
hath no knowledge of. Thus the Evangclijl St. Jchn had foretold thofe
events which we read of in the Revelations : for thofe events being all
hidden under the fhadows of futurity, it was impoffible for him to have
foretold them, unlefs the fpirit of God had immediately revealed them
to him.
The fecond is, by way of direction, in refpeel: of thofe things with
which the Prophets was himfelf acquainted, either becaufe he was an
eye-witneis of them himfelf, or becaufe he learnt them from thofe who)
were {o.
Now this direction of the fpirit confifts in the guiding the Prophet
fo as that he may write of his fubjedt, juft as it was either fpoken or done.
Thus the Evangelifts St. Matthew and St. John drew up an abridgment
of thofe fermons of our Saviour which they had heard, and of thofe
jniracles which they had feen.
And thus St. Luke and St. Mark have written of thofe things which
they had heard from thofe that were eye-witneffes of them, as St. Luk&
particularly tells us.
Now I affirm, that when Mofes wrote the book of Gexejist he had only
the fecond fort of prophetical influences, and not the firfr. ; although in
our difputes againft Atheifts, to convince them by arguments from
matters of fact, we may confider him only as an hiflorian, who might
have written his book without any other particular direction, and mighi;
have prefervetl it in the memory of thofe ancient events which were then
generally known.
Now, what fide foever Divines may take in their difputes againft the
Atheifts, 1 may eafily eftablifh my affertion : firft, becaufe it is not ne-
cefTary to fuppofe an entire revelation, where tradition being diftinct
enough, is fuxficient to preferve a clear remembrance of all thofe facts,
Now it cannot be denied, but that the tradition concerning the crea-
tion and the promife of the Mefiiah was of this nature, efpecially if we
confider the little extent of it, and the immediate fuccefjion of Mofes' s
anceitors, down to himfelf.
Secondly, if Abrahams and Jacob's travels through fo many places
were, as I have obferved already, very ufeful to give them a further view
of the common belief of all the feveral nations descended from Noah, and
of th/ir agreement in this tradition, it were unjuftto fuppofe thztMofes's
forty years fojourning in the country of Mirfian, and that too when he
was forty years old, and confequently had that ripenefs of age ;mcj
judgment as is fitteft for fuch obfervations, did not ferve toacquaint him
with the feveral paflages he records of Abraham^ as well as of the feveral
divifions of his poftcrity.
Thirdly, we may obferve in the book of Genefis a way of writing very
difFcent from that which we fee in the greatefl part of Exodus, and in
the fo lowing books j for whereas God fpeaks to him in thofe latcer
books, which he always did viva voce, (And the Jews have wifJy
obferyedj
Ch. XVIII. Reflexions upon Genejis. 26$
obferved, that herein confifted MoJes\ advantage above the other Pro-
phets, to whom God was ufed to fpeak only in dreams and villous.) He
ufes commonly thofe words, And the Lord Jpake unto me. He marks out
the place where God fpoke to him, as well as the time and occafion of
God's fpeaking to him, which he does not in his book of Genejis.
Fourthly, the book of Gene/is is not divided into feveral revelations,
as all prophecies are, wherein the feveral returns of the holy Spirit of
God are all exactly fet down ; which was abfolutely neceflary, not only
to eaf: the reader, who might be tired if he was to carry a long feriesof
predictions in his mind at once, as if it were only one Tingle vifion or
revelation, but alfo to condefcend to the nature oi' the minds of men :
for, according to the rules of probability, we cannot fuppofe them to be
filled with To many differing ideas at the fame time, but a great confu-
sion muft necefiarily follow.
But fuppofing that thefe obfervations fhould be thought infufficient,
yet thofe that follow will feem capable of convincing the minds of all.
There are in the book of Genejis certain characters of its being written in
that way which I fpeak of. Firft, one needs only juft look into that
book, and he will fee that the ancienteft facts, which are thofe of which
we moil defire a particular account, are there defcribed in a very fhort and
concife manner. The hiftory of i656years is all contained in eight chap-
ters ; there are no actions defcribed therein with more circumftances
than only fome few of the moft important, the remembrance whereof
was ftill frefh amongft them. The hiftory of Lamech's polygamy, and
the murders of which he was guilty, is there fet down fo compendioufly,
that it is very obfcure.
Secondly, one fees that he fpeaks more copioufly of all that had been
tranfacted near his time : he explains and mentions all the particulars
and circumftances thereof. He fpeaks fo fhortly of Melchifedeck, that it
js doubted to this day whether he was not the Patriarch Sbem, or fome
other faithful worfhipper of the true God fettled in the land oi Canaan ;
whereas he fets down at length all the particulars of the hiftory of Abra-
ham, of Ifaac, and of Jacob, whofe laft oracles, which he fpoke on his
death-bed, he carefully records.
Thirdly, he defcribes with the fame exactnefs all the genealogies of
the Edomitei, their feveral tribes, and the names of their heads and
captains, &c. as when he fpeaks of tnofe of the people of ljrael, which
indeed he could eafily do, having lived forty years of his life amonaft
thofe nations, as well as he had other forty years amongft the Ifraelttes.
Thofe who maintain the contrary opinion, muft of neceflity fuppofe,
firft, That tradition is of no ufe at all to preferve the idea of any illuf-
trious acton.
Secondly, That in Mofes's time there were none who knew any partt-
cul ars of the hiftory of the flood, &c. of the tower of Babel, of the di-
vifion of tongues ; though we fee plainly, both by the nature of the facts
themfelves, in which all nations were concerned, and by Mofes his
defcription, that the generality of mankind were fumciently inftructed
in them already.
Thirdly, It mull be fuppofed tha.t Mofes hath fet down the manner
how
266 Reflexions upon Genefls, Ch. XIX,
how that tradition was infallibly preferved fo carefully to no purpofe,
though he took notice of all the circurr.ftances neccflary for that effect.
Fourthly, They mult fuppofe that Mofes, whiift he fojourned in the
land of Midian, heard nothing either of their original and pedigree, nor
yet of the other neighbouring nations who were defcended from Abra-
ham, although all thefe nations valued themfelves upon their being
defcended from that Patriarch, and kept up their feveral pedigrees, by
which they could trace their original with the fame care as the Ifraelites
did theirs, becaufe they had the lame pretenfions that the Ifraelites had.
Laftly, We muft abfolutely take away the authority of the oracles
recorded by Mo/es in Gene/is. Thefe oracles promife to Abraham the
pofleflion of the land of Canaan for his pofterity, and threaten the Ca-
naanites with feveral curfes. Jacob by his will bequeathed Sichem to the
tribe of Jofeph : he exprefsly marks out the country which one of the
tribes was to pofTefs ; he gives a defcription of the character and rank of
every tribe. The accomphfhment of thofe oracles, though never fo exact
and admirable, is of no manner of conlequence, if we fuppofe that thefe
particular predictions were abfolutely unknown in Abraham's family ;
whereas their accomplifhment, which he carefully defcribes from time
to time, is the mod folid demonftratir«n which can bedefired, to eftablifii
the divinity of thofe revelations, as well as of Mojes his other books.
CHAP. XIX.
An Anfwer to an Objeclxon which may be drawn from the Hiflorics of the
Egyptians and Chaldea-ns, concerning the Antiquity of the World.
WHAT I have already reprefented is fufficientto prove that Mofes
writ nothing in the book ofGenefis, but what was then gene-
rally known by all the world. And I know nothing that can be objected
with any probability, but what we read in the moll: ancient authors
concerning the Egyptian and Chaldean hiftory, and in the modern ones
concerning that of China. We muft then examine both the one and the
other with attention, that we may leave no difficulties in fo important
a fubject.
All that the Atheills can object: againft the hiftory of Mofes, concern-
ing the epocha of the creation of the world as he had fixed it, is what
Diodorus Siculus relate?, that in the time of Alexander the Great there were
lome Egyptians that reckoned up three and twenty thoufand years from
the reign of the fun to Alexander's time, and that thofe who reckoned
leaft, yet reckoned fomewhat more than ten thoufand years ; which
account exceeds the antiquity which Mofes afcribes to the world in the
book of Gcncfis, by many ages, where he reprefents the creation as a fact
which happened lome tew years more than two thoufand five hundred
before
Ch. XIX," Reflexions upon Genefts, 267
before he wrote that book. How then did Mofes write of things univer-
sally acknowledged by all the world ? And they may here further aggra-
vate what the fame Diodorus hath obferved, that the hiftory of the
Egyptians was not written like that of the Greeks ; amongft whom, thofe
who came firft wrote their own hiftories, every man according to his
own private humour, which caufed that great variety amongft their hif-
torians: whereas amongft the Egyptians none wrote but by public au-
thority, the priefts alone having that particular employment referved for
them, to wrice their hiftories in their feveral generations.
This objection is eafily confuted in two words : in fhort, how could
the Egyptians have always had men to write their hiftories by public au-
thority in all their fucceeding generation?, feeing there were, as Diodorus
obferves, fuch ftrange and vaft divifions amongft themfelves ? If there
were but two or three ages difference, more or lefs, nobody would
look upon it as a material exception againft the hiftory of fuch a long
feries of time ; but who can imagine that thofe men who differ no lefs
than thirteen thoufand years in their accounts of the duration of the fame
interval of time, had yet certain hiftories upon which thefe things were
grounded ?
This fhews fufHciently, that as Varro, the greateft fcholar the Romans
ever had, hath divided antiquity into fabulous and hiftorical, which he
begins from the firft Olympiad, leaving ail which went before to the fa-
bulous part, fo we muft of neceffity make the fame distinction in the
matter of the antiquities of Egypt.
But I intend to do fomething more, and to confider this Egyptian hiftory
with a little more attention ; otrt of which, I think, I may draw good
arguments to confute the vanity of thofe pafTages in it oppofed to Afofes,
and to confirm the authority of his book oiGenefis, and trfe truth of the
chiefeft tranfa£f.ions recorded in it.
I (hall not at prefent take notice, that although the Egyptians, about
their latter times, have maintained that the elements were eternal, yet
they have fufHciently acknowledged that the world had a beginning,
feeing they make no mention of any thing before their thirty Dynafties,
which in all did at the moft amount to no more than 36525 years.
Neither do I think neceffary to mention here that they have fufHciently
acknowledged >he beginning of mankind, feeing they held that men were
firft born in Egypt; although they endeavoured to make good their pre-
tennons by that fottifh after t ion of the eafy production of frogs out of
the mud of their fens, as the fame Diodorus tells u<^.
But there are three things which I muft here take notice of, becaufe
they do moft certainly decide the queftion.
The firft is, That by that Jong reign which they afcribe to their gods
and heroes, there is nothing elfe meant but the motion of the flars, and
nothing like a real kingdom. That prodigious number of years does
not velate to the duration of the world, as if it had fubfifted lb long ;
but to the return of the fun, and the moon, and the five other planets,
and of the heavens, to the fame point from whence, according to the
opinion of the Egyptians, they firft began their courfe : in a word, it is
only the great aftronomical year, about which, as Arijhtle tells us, the
ancients have had fo many difFereut opinions, and the Egyptians have fo
little
±68 Refexions upon Genefs. Ch. XIX".
Jittl? agreed, as the hiftory of their antiquities, related by Diodorus, plainly
ihews. One thing evidently proves what 1 here alledge, which is, that
they have reckoned up hut fifteen Dynafties to Jupiter, the laft of the
heroes, that is to fay, but fifteen perfons to Jupiter, who is Ham the
third fon of Noah.
This comes very near Mofes's calculation, who reckoneth Noah as the
tenth man from Adam : for it is very likely that thole ignorant people,
after a long procefs of time, have joined Cain and Abel with Shem and
Japhet, and Mifraim the fon of Ham, which makes up the fixteen Dy-
namics ; except we choofe to fay that the Egyptians thought fit to join the
feven generations of Cain to thofe before the flood, which comes very
near to the fame account. All this, according to the fantafiic notions
of thofe ancient people who deified the firft men, and gave them after-
wards the names of fome ftars, to imprefs upon their pofferity a greater
veneration for them; and in particular, according to the groundlefs
imagination of the Egyptians, who were refolved to maintain that the
firft men were formed in their own country. And in fhort we find that
thofe Dynafties for the nioft part, if we except thofe of Vulcan and
of the fun, have been but of a very fhort continuance, and evenfhorter
than that which Mofes afcribes to the lives of the ancient Patriarchs,
which we have already fet down.
The fecond thing that is obfervable in the confutation of this falfe an-
tiquity, if one would take what the Egyptians have related of their Dy-
nafties before Menes, and Jupiter the laft of their heroes, in a hiftorical
fenfe, is, that there areftill fufficient marks of the newnefs of the world,
as Mofes hath defcribed it, in the remaining fragments of the true ■Egyp-
tian hiftory.
Firft, VVWee that Egypt hath conftantly carried the name of Ham
amongft the Gentiles, as v/ell as in the holy Scriptures. It was called fo
in Plutarch's time: the Egyptian Thebes was called Hammon No Ezech.
30. which is the name of the Egyptian Jupiter, as the heathen authors
Herodotus and Plutarch teftify. Now it is vihbie that all this was for no
other reafon but becaufe Egypt had fallen to the fhare of Ham, Noah's
third fon, who fettled there, and whofe pofterity did afterwards peo-
ple Africa, and gave it. their feveral names, as Mofes particularly ob-
ferves.
Secondly, One fees that Egypt hath more particularly borne the name
of Alizrcim, which it bears ftill, and which was given to it, in refpect
of one of its parts, becaufe of Mizraim the (on of Ham. And it would
be ridiculous for one to imagine that thofe characters given by Mofes, had
bt-tn allowed of in the world, except he had had good grounds to defcribe
fheir original in the fame manner as he hath already done.
Thirdly, One fees that all the Dynafties of Egypt, that is to fay, all
the feveral branches of the kings who have reigned over the feveral parts
of Egypt, did all acknowledge Menes for their common founder.
This Menes being the fame with that Mizraim of Mofes, as I fliall
#iew hereafter; it is vifible that the Egyptians, who in all likelihood
have afcribul to Menes what they might more juftly have afcribed to Ju-
piter Hammon, becaufe they would diftinguifh their kings from heroes,
have exactly followed the ideas of Mofes, in representing one as the com-
mon
Ch. XIX. Reflexions upon Genefts. 269
mon father of all the feveral branches of kings who divided Egypt amongft
themfelves.
Fourthly, One fees that the invention of the arts moft neceflary to
human life have been attributed either to Menes the firft king of Egypt,
or to his fucceflbrs. It was this Menes, or one of his fuccefTors, who
invented laws, letters, aftronomy, mufic, wreftling, phyfic, hierogly-
phics, anatomy, and architecture. All this plainly fhews that the Egyp-
tians had been miftaken, if they had afcribed to the world as great art
antiquity as one would think they did, by the vaft extent of time which
they afcribed to the Dynafties of their gods and heroes. How could
the world have continued above thirty thoufand years without thofe arts
which are fo nceffary for the convenience of human life? How could
men not have found out, during fuch a prodigious fucceflion of ages,
thofe arts, the invention whereof the Egyptians do afcribe to their firft
king, or to one or two of his fucceflbrs, during a very fhort interval of
time ?
Fifthly, One fees in the hiftory of Egypt the fame decay in religion
that Mojes fpeaks of (e). The ancients unanimoufly agree that the
Egyptians had at firft neither ftatues nor images in their temples, which
perfectly agrees with what Afofes tells us of the times after the flood:
but they tell us alfo, that the Egyptians afterwards made fome ftatues,
and confecrated in their temples the figures of great numbers of animals.
Some are of opinion, and that probably enough, that this came from the
belief which they entertained afterwards of the tranfmigration of fouls
into other animals, an opinion which they thought did neceflarily flow
from the do&rine of the immortality of the foul.
Sixthly, However, one fees in the fixth place, that as Mofes reprefentv
Nimrod, one of Ham's pofterity, as the founder of an empire mAJyria^
where he formed the manners of the inhabitants according to the~p!at-
form of the Egyptian principles, fo the ancients have obferved, that the
famous AJfyrian Be/us came out of Egypt ; and it is natural to conceive*
that there he planted idolatry, which began even before Abrahams
time (/) ; if it be true, as the jews obferve, that the tower of Babel was
a temple, wherein an idol was confecrated to worfhip him. At leaft,
that conjecture hath a very folid ground, if we confider the idolatry of
the Babylonians towards this Bel, whom they worshipped as a pod ac-
cording to the Pagans cuftom of adoring the founders of kingdoms, after
their deceafe, as gods.
Tbetfeird thing we are here to take notice of, contains a demonstra-
tion of the truth of the book Gene/is, if that which is recorded in it con-
cerning the time of the flood, be compared with the Dynafties of the
Egyptian kings. 1 will not fay that thofe Egyptians who had any know-
ledge of the flood, did exactly mark out the time of ir, as Mobs doth j
but T believe 1 may be able to Shew out of their .common opinions, fome-
thing very near equivalent.
They are all agreed that Menes was the firft king of Egypt, and lived
about fourteen hundred years before the famous Sefoftris, as Hercdstu*
and Diodorus Siculus do both relate it: now, who Should this king; of
Egypt
(<?) Herod, lib. ii. cap. 4. Lncian de Dea Syr,
(/) Pau/an. in Mejen. p. 261.
5)0 k> flexions upon Gene fa. Ch. XlXi
Egypt be, whom fome call Sefonchofis, unlei's he is the fame with Sbiflmk
whom the Scripture fpeaks of in the hiftory of Rehoboam (g), even, tne
fame famous conqueror who took Jerufalem in the fifth year of Reho-
boains reign ? If one calculates the time from the flood to the fifth year
cf Rehoboam, he will find that this Alettes, the fir ft king of Egypt, is no
other than the Horn of Mofes ; and on the other fide, that there is very
little difference, in refpe£t to that interval of time, betwixt the chronology
of the Egyptians and that of the Scriptures. Thus the Egyptian ac-
count confirms Mofes % narrative, and the authority of the holy writers,
who are very particular in ftating the times of every thing : whereas the
Egyptians, taking all in great, could never arrive at that exa£tnefs.
This oblervation is of very great ufe, to iliew the certainty of Mofes's
chronology according to the Hebrew text ; for that of the Septuagint
reckons up above two thoufand years from the flood to Sefq/iris; whereas
the Egyptians did reckon up but a little above fourteen hundred years
from Mcnes, the firft king cf Egypt, to Scfojlris.
There is lefs difficulty to anfwer the objection which may be made
againft the book of Genejis, from the pretended antiquity of the Chal-
deans. The fame Di odor us Siculus (h) who faith that the Egyptians
propofed fo great an antiquity of the world, tells us alfo that the Chal-
deans believed it eternal, and that theyboafted, in Alexanders time, that
they had learned aftcpnomy by tradition, from their anceftors, who had all
fucceilively made it their ftudy for four hundred feventy-two thoufand
years together. But there is nothing vainer than thefe pretences.
• I fhall not ftand to fhew here the folly of their opinions about the eter-
nity of the world : if Arijiotle feems to have authorifed it, yet it is enough
to confute that opinion, to confider, that it is repugnant to the common
notion of ail the nations of the world; fo that Democrttm himfelf, who
pretended that the world was made by chance, yet durft not oppofe the
common and general opinion of the world's being new, though he had
the boldnefs to rejedl the author of it, and that action by which it was
created.
Neither do I intend to be prolix here in confuting the fuppofition of
the Chaldeans.^ about their anceftors following the ftudy of aftrology for
472C00 years fucceflively : the impofnbility of the thing in itfelf is ap-
parent by the certainty of the flood, which was acknowledged by all thofe
nations of whom we have any antiquities, though never fo little confider-
able, in Pa^an authors.
Butlfliall make two obfervations, whereof one fhews the folly of the
£$«£fco» hypothecs, and the other doth invincibly eftablifii the authority
of the book of Gene/is, if it be compared with what we know for certain,
and in the Chaldean hiftory.
The firft is, That the moft ancient authors are of opinion* that the
Chaldeans are defcended from the Egyptians, who looked upon them as a
colony of their own. Diodorus Siculus faith, that the Egyptians maintained
that they had lent out feveral colonies intofeveral parts of the world; that
Belusxh- f>n of Neptune and Lybia, had conduced one into Babylon, and
that having fixed it near Euphrates, he efhblifhed fomc priefts among
them
(g) I. Kings xiv. 26.
[ft Dioa'or. 1. 2. feet. 30, 3 1.
ChsXIX. Reflexions upon Genefls. 2jt
them according to the Egyptian cuftom, who were free from all public
charges and offices, whom the Babylonians do call Chaldeans, and who,
according to the example of the Egyptian prieRs, philosophers, and aftro-
logers, dfd apply themfelves to the obfervation of the ftars. Hejliaus
and Paufanias fay the fame with Diodorus (;').
Now, one need only examine here, what the Egyptians do fay about
the invention of ajlrology, which they afcribe to Menes, that is to fay, to
Ham, or to Mizraim, who lived after the flood, thereby to difcover the
foolifh vanity of the Chaldeans.
It is plain that the Chaldeans grew fo vain, by the growth of (o con-
fiderable an empire as theirs was, that they would be no longer beholding
to the Egyptian aftrologers, whom all other nations have looked upon as
the fir ft inventors of that fcience, to the inventing and perfecting of
which, all men know that the Egyptian climate, where the fky is always
free from clouds, did very much contribute.
And it is very confiderable, that both the Chaldeans and the Egpptians
began their year with the fame'month, according to Cenforinus's obfer-
vation, c. xxi.de Die Nat.
I know very well, the ancient heathens were miftaken when they pre-
tended that the Chaldeans went out of Egypt, as a plantation : there is,
no doubt, a kind of illufion in this their opinion ; but yet the ground
and origin of it is uncontrollable, becaufe the Chaldeans are defcended
from Cujh, Hatns eldeft fon, as Mofes tells, Gen. x. Therefore, though
we fhould grant that the Chaldeans were the firft inventors of aitrology,
yet this would always be certain, that it was found out only fince Hatn'3
time, whom the Egyptians did look upon as the laft of their heroes, or as
the firft of their kings.
The other obfervation which ought to be well minded here, is taken
out of the true and genuine Chaldean antiquities. One may prove by the
aftronomical demonstrations of the Chaldeans, which the people of Ifrael
was altogether unacquainted with, that Mofes followed a calculation
which was then generally known.
Arijlotle, the firft Grecian that ever taught the eternity of the world,
contrary to Mofcs's hiftory, is the man who furnifhes us with it. He
took care to fend over into Greece the aftronomical obfervations of the
Chaldeans (£), by which it appeared that Babylon was taken by Alexander
about 1903 years after its foundation. Now that calculation agrees
exactly with that of Mofes, who gives us the defcription of the tower of
Babel (I), and explains the original of the name of that citv, which was
built fome ages after, by the confufion of tongues which then happened.
And truly, it would be very admirable, that the heavens in their motions
fliould have entered into a confederacy with Mofes, to juftify a chronology
invented by him in fport, without keeping to any rules, but writing by
chance, and without any certain principle.
(i) Ap. Jcfepb. Antiq. I. 1. c. 5. Paufan, Meffen. p. 261.
(<0 Simflic, in. 1. 2. dr. caelo. (1) Gen. xi.
CHAP. XX,
ZJZ Reflexions upon Genefts» Ch. XX*
CHAP. XX.
An Anfivcr to the Objection which may be drawn out of the Hiftory of China,
againjl the Mofaic Hy pot hefts , concerning the Newnefs of the World*
I COME now to the other objection which may be made againft
Mofes's calculation, according to the Hebrew text> as we have it
now. it is drawn from the Hiftory of China, whole uninterrupted feries
runs up the fucceflion of their emperors to Fohius, who reigned about
four hundred years before the flood. Some learned men have already
made ufeof that argument, to difcredit the Mofaic chronology accord-
ing to the Hebrevj text, and to cry up the calculation of the Septuagint,
which exceeds that of the Hebrew text in the hiftory before the flood^ by
800 years, and above 700 in the hiftory from the flood to Mofes. This
objection appears very ftrong to thofe who read in the hiftory of Mar-
tinus, that there is not the leaft interruption in the catalogue of the kings
of China from Fohius ; that the hiftory of their actions is fo certain,
having always been written by a public authority, that no man can rea-
fomibly entertain any doubt about it : and the miflionaries in China have
thought that there was no other way to reconcile the Mofaic chronology
with the Chinefe, but in making ufe of the Septuagint's account; and
wherein they agree with all the Afiatic Chriftians, and even thofe in
Europe, who follow the Septuagint in their reckoning up the years of
the world, for the moft part ; though St. Hiercme's translation, which,
follows the Hebrew text exactly, is received in the weft.
But, after all, there is little difficulty in anfwering this objection ; and
we may hereupon eafily fatisfy thofe who do not difpute only for dis-
puting fake, but are ready to examine this queftion with that equity
which is requifite in the examination of all queftions of that nature.
I confefs, ingenuoufly, that this hiftory, which is one of the moft
ancient in the world, hath many illuftrious characters of certainty, efpe-
cially if we give credit to all that Martimts relates of it.
Firft, it marks out exactly the feries and fucceflion of all the kings of
China, from the very beginning and original of that nation.
Secondly, it records in what year of each cycle of threefcore years
every king began his reign, and did fuch or fuch an action.
Thirdly, it relates fome aftronomical observations, older than any
that have been made by the moft ancient aftronomers in other nations.
Fourthly, it was written by a public authority, and by fuch authors
as lived in the time when the things which they record were tranfacted ;
the immediate fucceflbr to the empire taking always care, that the hiftory
of hispredeceflbr fhould be written.
Nay, to all this we muft add, that the Ghinefe's way of writing, making
no u'e of letters, but of hieroglyphics, may have prevented thele
alterations which might otheryyife have been made in their hiftory; the
whole
Ch. XX. Reflexions upon GeneJIs. 273
whole life of a man being hardly fufficient to attain to the perfect
knowledge of a tongue which hath above threefcore thoufand figures,
which mull be all learnt before a man can be able only to read and
write.
But, befides that, all this depends upon the fole authority of Martinius^
nobody elfe befide him having given us as yet any opportunities of exa-
mining thofe ancient monuments of China. We may find out of this
very hiftory forne ftrong proofs to confirm that of Mofes, and fo eafily
refolve the difficulties which may be raifed out of it, againft the book
of Gene/is.
Firft, F. Martinius obferves, that the common opinion of the Chinefe
is, that the world had a beginning ; and though there be fome of t"hem
of Epicurus' 's opinion, yet there v/as never any amongft them that was
for the eternity of the world, but fince the incarnation of Chrijiy and
the introduction of idolatry amongft them.
Secondly, he tells us, that they commonly acknowledge a God, whom
they call Xangti, which is not the name, but the epithet of God, this
word fignifying fupreme governor of heaven and earth.
Thirdly, he faith that they acknowledge a firft man, brought forth out
of the chaos, in one night in the fpring ; which opinion fome amongft
them have made intricate, by the addition of their own fables.
Fourthly, he fhews that facrifices have been in ufe amongft them.
Fifthly, that they believe a certainty of punifhments and rewards,
after this life, for vice and virtue.
Sixthly, that they believe the exiftence of good and bad angels.
Seventhly, that they aflign to fome of them the protection of cities
and provinces, and pay them great veneration at the inftalment of their
magiftrates.
Eighthly, that they acknowledge them to be incorporeal beings, and
that it is but of late that they have erected and confecrated ftatues to
them.
And laftly, that they have a very great knowledge of the flood,
which in their account happened about 35OO years before Jefus Chrifi.
Here are, we fee, many truths which are the grounds of religion,
and which were known to them j from whence we may eafily iudge, in
comparing thofe truths with the hiftory of Mofes, that the ancient Chi-
nefe did agree with all other nations, in the believing the firft prin-
ciples of religion laid down by Mofes,
We may likewife obferve, that thofe antiquities of China, for the moft
part, are as like thofe recorded by Mofes, as a tradition (which cannot
but have received many alterations during fuch an interval of time) can
be like to an exact narrative of matters of fact drawn up by an author
who knew very well what he writ.
Firft, it appears that what they fay concerning the thirteen fuccefibrs
of the firft man, named Puoncuus, all defcended from him, is agreeable
enough to the hiftory of Gene/is, which fets down the fucceflive Patriarchs
from father to fon : all the difference is, that the Chinefe, by a foolifh
ambition of appropriating all to themfelveSj maintain that thofe thirteen
kings were all in China. 1
Vol. I. S Secondly,
274 Reflexions upon Genefis. Ch. XX,
Secondly, what they tell us of the world being civilized under the
fecond of thofe kings, called Thienhoang, after the death of the great dra-
gon that had difturbed heaven and earth, agrees very well with the hiftory
of Setb, who began to form mankind to a right notion of the woifhipof
God, when he feparated them from Cain's family.
Thirdly, it is very probable that when the Cbinefe have reckoned up
thirteen kings lineally defcended from the firft man and his fucceffors,
they have included in that number Cain and Abel, who, though they
were both the fonsof the firft man, yet were not reckoned up by Mofes,
becaufe his fcope was only to give an account of the lineal defcent of
Adams pofterity by S*tb.
They believe that under Ginbobang there was a kind of golden age,
theearth being then fruitful to admiration ; and that under his fucceflbr
men being then extremely fimple, and altogether ignorant of the feveral
arts neceffary to human life, as of characters and letters, one Sujus, to
fupply the want of them, contrived a way of keeping up the memory of
things, by tying feveral forts of knots upon a cord.
All which fufficiently evinces, that the belief of the world's being
lately created, according to Mofes's defcription, was as much received by
the ancient people of China as by all other nations.
And here it is further obfervable, That the C/;/w<?/<?themfelves, accord-
ing to Martinius's account, do fufpecl all the hiftorical records of their
empire, before king Fohius, looking upon them as falfe and ridiculous :
and indeed the people of that country, before Fohius, living like brute
beafts, without any fettled governments, laws, or arts, this alone is
enough to confute thofe amongft the Cbinefe who maintain nowadays,
that the duration of the world before Confucius, who lived about 500
years before JefusChriJl, was of no lefs than three millions two hundred
threefcore and feven thoufand years ; for hereby it clearly appears, that
they have foolifhly affected to furpals the Chaldeans in their vanity, who,
believing the eternity of the world, pretended, in order both to prove
their antiquity, and to give credit to their aftrological obfervations, that
aftrology had been exercifed amonglt them for 472000 years before
Alexander's entering into Afia.
After all, it is certain, that their calculation of 30CO years, from Fohius
to jefus Chrifl, is only incompatible with Mofes's chronology, according
to the Hebrew text, and not at all with that of the Septuagint.
But moreover, what can be more palpably fabulous than the whole
hiftory of Fobius, whom the Cbinefe fuppofe to have begun his reign 2952
years before J ejus Chrifl ? Firft, he is called the Son of Heaven, be-
caufe, they lay, he had a mother and no father; and that his mother
conceived him by the banks of a lake near the town Lanthieu, where,
as fhe was walking, {he faw the footfteps of a man upon the fand, and
was at the fame time (urrounded on a fudden with a rainbow.
Secondly, the fituation of that town, which is in the weft of China, does
demonftratc that the firft inhabitants of China came either from the
weftern .arts of the world, and that confequently they were of Shews
pofterity, according to Mtfcs's account in the tenth of Genefis.
Thirdly, although there be perhaps no incongruity in their afcribing
to him the ftudy of aflroncmy, and the invention of feveral inftitutions
jKcefiary
Cfc. XX. Reflexions upon Gene ft: 275
neceflary to human fociety, as laws, &c. yet what they add, that he was
the firft'inventor of feveral figures, which he had feen upon the back of
a dragon, fufficiently (hews, that either the whole hiftory is buta fable,
or that he was a cheat, and impofed upon the fimplicity of ignorant
people.
What probability is there (feeing it is fuppofed China was then all
over infefted and overgrown with barbarifm) that in his time it mould
be recorded in writing, ii That he invented, inftead of thofe knots be-
fore mentioned* the hieroglyphics, which are almoft as obfeure ; 2. That
men were then diftinguifhed from women by the difference of their gar-
ments ; 3. That marriages were then fixed and regulated* which before
were a* promifcuous amongft men as amongft beatts ?
What they fay or his being the author of a muiieal inftrument of 36
chords, mews evidently the falfehood of the ftory ; for there is nothing
more improbable, than to fuppofe that he mould arrive tofuch perfection
of improvement in mufic as that comes to, when that art had but very
lately been invented. It is all that men could attain unto, after they
have long improved this art, the beginnings whereof, without doubt, as
of all other arts, were very rough and imperfect.
Surely the Egyptians were more reafonable when they attributed the;
invention of the lyre with three firings to Mercury, Saturn's fecretary*
who is the fame with Noahi
The h i (lory of China takes notice that the beginning of hufbandry and
phyfic was under Fobius's fuccefior ; it does not mention whether he was
his fon, or no ; but it only gives an account of the firft war, wherein
he was routed by a petty king, one of his fubjects, who fucceeded him
in the empire.
And what is moft lingular in that record, is, that therein is afcribed
to that ufurper, I. the invention of the cycle of 60 years, which ferves
to fix their chronology ; 2. the method of regulating weights and mea-
sures ; 3. that it was by his means and encouragement thatfomeof his
contemporary fubjecls found out the fphere, arithmetic, laws, judicial
aftrolcgy, feveral mufical inftruments, the art of dying and of coining*
the joiners and carpenters trade, fo far as to make boats and bridges.
They pretend that he never died, but that he was tranfiated alive into
that place which the Chinefe do aflign for eternal happinefs. It is
Pliny's (m) obfervation, that this way and cuflom of deifying the firft
inventors of arts neceflary to human life, is very ancient; but if it be
an old cuftom, it is alfo a pregnant fign of the ignorance that reigned
amongft thofe ancient people that ufed it. Therefore we may as juftly
fufpect the hiftory of the Chinefe, amongft whom it is in v(e, as the
Egyptian accounts, which were much of the fame nature in Alcxan-
der'% time, as we are informed by Diodorus Siculus. The pofterity or
the fuccclTors of thofe famous men have always afFedted in procefs of
time, by fuch means, to immortalize their names, to the end they
might raife up themfelves and their families as well to power and autho-
rity, as to honour and veneration, above all other men with whom they
converfed.
But, however, we may reafonably conjecture that thofe feveral pafTages
S 2 recorded
(/«) Lib. ih cap. 7. Hilt, Nat.
2)6 Reflexions upon Genefts, Ch. XX,"
recorded in that hiftory, having, for the greatefr. part of them, a great
conformity with the transactions related \x\Mcfes's hiftory, which was not
unknown to the Chaldeans, with whom the Cbineje had communication
and correfpondence, all thofe pretences and claims of theirs to the in-
vention of thefe arts, is an honour which they have borrowed from others,
to lend it to the founders of their empire; juft as the Egyptians have
appropriated to their firft kings, fome arts which were found out by
the Patriarchs before the flood ; or as the Greeks have made their firft
princes the firft inventors of thofe very arts, the invention of which the
Egyptians afcribed to their firft kings.
And this reflexion will appear the more probable and natural, if we
confider what they relate, that under the fourth fucceflbr of Fohius there
arofe an impoftor, famous by his delufions, who endeavoured to alter the
religion of the Chinefe, and to bring in idolatry amongft them ; which
brought great misfortunes upon China. For hereby it is evident, that the
Chinefc in their hiftory have difguifed, and fo appropriated to thcmfelves*
fome pafiages which relate to Nimrod's time, fince the original of ido-
latry is to be referred to the time of building of the tower of Babel,
which was intended for an idol temple, if we will believe what pafies for
a received opinion amongft the yews.
Chuenhious is faid to have been the reftorer of the worfhip of one God,
and to have annexed the priefthood to the kingly power ; and to have
regulated the Calendar ; and to have found out the ephemerides of the five
planets, after an entire conjunction of thofe five planets, before the day
of the conjunction of the fun with the moon ; and to have fixed to that
day, the beginning of the year, which agrees with our beginning the year
in "January.
But vet it is to be obferved,
1. That, notwithftanding this pretended aftronomical obfervation,
there have been feveral alterations made of the beginning of the year
according to the fancy and pleafure of feveral emperors, which fhews
that there was no conftant rule obferved in that country.
2. That Martinius feems to have approved of the calculation of this
conjunction of five planets in Aquarius, to accommodate the falfe aftro-
logical prejudice of the Chinefe with that of feveral authors, who, looking
upon the flood as a natural event, have groundlefsly imagined that it was
brought to pafs by the virtue and influence of fuch a conjunction, and
that it was a certain fign of a flood. It is this fool ifh and whimfical fancy
which hath made fome Grecians prepofteroufly fedulous in feeking out
that dreadful year, the winter whereof was to drown the world with a
flood, and the fummer to burn it with a general conflagration, as Cenfa-
rinus * and Arijhtle f have obferved it. It is a judicious remark which
Origanus || hath made upon the obfervations of thofe aftrologers who,
from the conjunction of the planets in humid figns, ufe to foretel prodi-
gious rains ; for he (hews that there is nothing more groundlefs and un-
certain than fuch obfervations : and he gives a famous and remarkable
initance of that uncertainty to the eternal lhame of aftrology, which is
this j John Staffer, as Cardan tells us, having obferved fuch a conjunc-
tion
* Qenf. Je die »at, c iS.
:,ij}.l. l. meteor, c 14., !: &M». I. ephemer. /. 481.
Ch. XX. Reflexions upon Gene/is. 277
tjon of all the planets in Pi fees, in the year 1524., foretold there fhould
come a general flood ; whereof feveral people being afraid, retired to the
tops of high mountains, but without any caufe, for there was never feen
a greater ferenity of weather.
3. Martinius was certainly miftaken, when he afcribed to Chuenhious
the regulating the ephemerides of the five letter planets ; feeing there are
no fuch ephemerides in China, according to all the relations we have of
that country ; nor yet any of the fun and moon, fo exa£l as we have in
Europe: a pregnant demonftration of which is, that the miffionary Je-
fuits have been raifed up to the dignity of the chiefeft Mandarins in
China, only becaufe their fkill and learning in aftrology was found to
exceed that of any the moil learned nen amongtl the Chinefe, by many
degrees.
Thefe things I thought fit to obferve, to fhew that there is nothing
in the hiflory of China, which they fo much cry up, that can any ways
invalidate the authority of Mofes's accounts in his book of Genefis, but
what rather confirms it, if it be confidered with attention.
It was not without reafon that I have fuppofed that the memory of
thofe ancient tranfactions was conveyed, though confufedly, to the Chi-
nefe : we have already intimated one of thofe probable means of con-
veyance of this tradition, by their commerce with the Chaldeans, who
were well informed of the greateft pirt of thofe feveral tran factions, and
who had great intercourfe with the remoteft nations of Afia, towards the
eftft. I'o this we may add another argument, yet more certain and fure ;
which is, the continual commerce that always had been betwixt the
Indies and China, and the communication which the inhabitants of the
neighbouring countries of the Red Sea have always had with all the
eaftern nations in the world : for it is plain that this commerce gave
a great opportunity of communicating to thofe eaftern nations, the
knowledge of all thofe paffages which were known to the Chaldeans ; juft
as the like commerce with the weftern nations of the world proved a
means of conveying to them the knowledge of the moft part of the fame
things, which in proccf? of time became the ground of the moft ancient
fables amongft the Greeks, among whom thofe fables made up the beft
part of their divinity.
But, befides all this, we may mention here another very likely means
of conveyance, viz. the commerce of the Chinefe with the Tartars,
among whom the Jewsbfxhs ten tribes weredifperfed and fettled, within
a fhort time after their captivity in Affyria'; for as thofe Jews had with
them the books of MofeS) fo they ealily gave a great infight and know-
ledge in ancient hiftory to thofe nations that have appropriated it to
themfelves, as may be made out by comparing their fabulous biftory
with thofe books of Mofes, which contain in effect all that relates to the
original of thofe nations.
But whatever judgment may be made of thofe forementioned means
of conveying the ancient tradition to the Chinefe, I think that I have
good ground to affirm,
1. That the hiftorians that have written the lives of the firft empe-
rors of China were not contemporaries with thofe emperors, and that
S 3 confequently
2y8 Reflexions upon Gene/is. Ch. XXI »
consequently they have not recorded things fo well known, as it was
fuppofed.
2. That the fables intermixed in their hiftories do fufficiently evi-
dence the eafy and credulous temper of thofe authors, which takes
away from them all credit and belief.
3. That the greateftcare of thofe authors was to perfuade the world
of the pretended antiquity of theirnation, and fo to raife the honour and
reputation of it by glorious (lories and fables.
4. That their affectation, in giving us an account of aftronomy
and judiciary attrology, was only to bring into credit and reputation
thofe arts, the end and fcope of which is to impofe upon fimple men ;
which is a ridiculous affectation, and fuch as hath expofed the
Chaldeans and Egyptians to the juft contempt and deriiion of all other
nations.
5. That there is amongft them a diverfity of opinions contrary to
one another, about their antiquity ; juft as there were fome amongft
the Egyptians who reckoned up 23000 years fiom the reign of the fun
to Alexander, when fome others reckoned but a little above 1000Q
years.
6. That the Chinefe, according to one of their own opinions, muff
fay that the earth was without almoft any inhabitants for 30000 years
together, and above : whereas we fee that in the fpace of five or fix
thoufand years it is become inhabited as we fee it; and that, within a
little more, it will be fo overftocked, as that it will not be able to yield
provifions enough for all its inhabitants, as a learned Englijhman hath
of late proved it by a mathematical demonfiration ; wich (hews that
the Cbinefe wanted certain grounds to go upon, in feveral accounts
which they give of many tranfadtions, and in the relating of which
they are befides molt confident.
Laftly, that therefore what is reported, that thefe Cbinefe authors did
all write with public allowance for every king's deceafe, might indeed
be Co about the latter times, as it was pradtifed in Egypt ; but that it is
as abfolutely falfe, that the Cbinefe had ever in former times fuch pub-
lic hiftorians, and as it is falfe that the Egyptians had formerly any
fuch, although they were as confident to lay they had in Alexander's
time, as the Chincfe are now.
But this, I think, is fufficient for the clearing of that matter. We
mull; now anfwer the lad objection of Athcijls againft the authority of
the book of Gcncjis.
CHAP. XXI.
Wherein the laji Objittion of Atheists is anfwer ed.
' A SI intend to clear all the difficulties which may arife about this
Jr\ important matter, in the minds of thofe that (hall perufe thefe
observations -} i think myfelf obliged to prevent and relolve the only
plaufible
Ch. XXI. Reflexions upon Gene/is. 279
plaufible objection I know remaining, after all what I have faid upon
this fubje£t.
Perhaps fome will be apt to reply here, that they indeed confefs Mofes
to be the author of Genefis, and that, if that book had really been fuppo-
fititious, it could never have gone under his name, nor be received as
his in after ages; but that yet all this does not prove fufEciently the
truth of thofe tranfadtions recorded in that book ; becaufe Mofes may
have forced upon the people of Ifrael the belief of them, by thofe laws
that he ena&ed amongft them, by which it was death for any man to
dare to conteft the truth of any thing he had written in his books. This,
I think, is all that the mod contentious Atheijis can think of, to under-
mine the authority of A-fofes's hiftory.
But this objection is eafily anfwered, for it confutes itfelf. For,
Firft, it fuppofes the truth of thefe great miracles by which God
eftablifhed Mofes the head and captain of the people of Ifrael; which
miracles are every whit as hard to believe, as the feveral accounts of
other things which we read of in the book ofGenefis.
We find accordingly, amongft the heathens themfelves, manymonu-
ments of thofe miracles done by the miniflry of Mofes, when he brought
the Ifraeiites out of Egypt ; as i intend to fhew in my obfervations upon
the other four books of Mofes.
Secondly, they muft at leaft fuppofe that Mofes hath given a true
account of feveral paflages, in which he could not impofe upon other
nations, which did not acknowledge his authority; as, for example, all
that relates to the building of the ark, the greateft piece of architecture
that was then in the world ; and to the raifmg of the tower of Babel, the
greateft building that ever was, and part of which is yet extant; for all
thefe things were as fo many witnefies of the truth of thofe transactions
which he related.
Thirdly, they muft likewife fuppofe that he hath related feveral other
paflages as exactly as he did thofe ; as, for example, that of thedivifion of
tongues, which is an appendix of the hiftory of the tower of Babel; that
of the deftrucTion of Sodom ; the original of the neighbouring nations of
Canaan, that of the Jews, of the Moabites, of the Ammonites, of the
JfomaelHes, and Edcmites : for it is ridiculous to conceive that this law-
giver fhould ever hope to perfuade other nations to believe anv falfe
ftories about matters fo well and fo generally known as thofe were
amongft themfelves.
Fourthly, they muft fuppofe further, that he hath given a trueaccount
of the original of the Ifaeiites, whofe head and governor he was. How
great and abfolute foever the authority of Mofes might be, it is ridiculous
to imagine that ever he would have derived the original of the Ifraeiites
from any other than from their true anceftors. This appears the more
neceffary, in that we lee, by the accounts he gives of things and pedi-
grees inGenefn, that he wrote that book, efpeciaily from the hiftory of
Abraham on to the end of it, only to fhew the rights and juft pre-*
tendons of the Ifraeiites upon the land of Canaan.
Fifthly, they muft yet further acknowledge, whether they will or not,
the truth of the accounts hegives, concerning the original of the preten-
tions and divifions which were kept up amongft the twelve tribes of
S 4 Ifrael i
2$0 \ Reflexions upon Genefis. Ch. XXI.
ljrael: now thefe pretenfions having no other ground than the oracles
which are related in his hiftory, they fufficiently prove the authority of
thofe oracles, againft all the pretenfions and objections of the Atheifts.
What violence foever they may pretend that Alofes might ufe to force
an implicit belief of his hiftory and blind obedience to his laws, yet no
man of common fenfe and reafon can ever think that he would have
filled the accounts he gives of things of that nature, with lies, or that, if
he had done it, he could ever have expected that his falfe accounts of
them fhould ever have been credited by the neighbouring nations, or
even by his own fubjects.
But without urging here feveral other abfurdities, which plainly fhew
that there is no diftinction to be found betwixt the accounts of things
which Mrfes recites as publicly known, and thofe which he relates of
his own head, and private knowledge; there being, as I have already
fhewed, betwixt all thofe feveral accounts, fuch a natural coherence
and necefTary concatenation, that they cannot be divided from one
another, without deftroying the whole frame of his hiftory ; I fay, that
it is impomble that the law by which he makes it death for any one to
conteft the truth of his narration, fhould make the fincerity of it fufpecled.
I do not urge here, that there is an evident abfurdity to fuppofe that
Mofes would ever have related together all thofe tranfaclions, as the
grounds of religion, if they had been abfolutely unknown in the world
before him.
Neither do I mention here, that fuppofe Mofes had been fo imprudent
as to attempt fuch an undertaking, yet there is no reafon to believe that
a whole nation, and that a very numerous one, would have long perfe-
vered in a profeflion forced upon them by mere violence and tyranny.
Nor do I think it necefTary to obferve here, that the people of Ifrael
were neither fo patient, nor foeaJily perfuaded by Mojes, nor yet fo fub-
miflive to him, as thefe objectors do imagine.
That is plain, and apparent enough from all their feditions andconf-
piracies againft him.
Nor do I judge it necefTary to obferve here what is plain enough of it-
felf,viz. that Mofes had no fucceflbr any ways concerned tocountenance
and defend thefe pretended fictions and fables of his hiftory. Jofhua, his
immediate fucceflbr, was of another tribe ; and lb were all the lucceeding
governors of Ifrael, until the Maccabees came.
But what I think deferves beft to beoblerved here, is, that after Mofes
and Jofcua's deceafe the people of Ifrael was brought under the fubjec-
tion of the Canaaniies, and confequently freed from the terror of that law
of Mofes 's making, by which it was death for any one to conteft the au-
thority of his laws, and the truth of all his writings : there is but a little
more than forty years interval betwixt the conqud\ oi' Canaan by Jofhuat
and the bondage of the Ifraelites under the ncigbouring nation?. Had
it not been a fie time then, to caft off the yoke of Mofes's laws, and to
publifh the pretended lies and impoftures of his hiftory ? Was not the
companion which the Ifraelites could eafily make betwixt the Mofaic
writings and the tradition generally received in the country of their
captivity, a natural and ready means to undeceive them ?
Yet, notwithftanding all this, ws fee that they obftinately entertain the
3 belief
Ch. XXII. Reflexion! upon Gencfts. 281
belief of the feveral tranfaclions recorded by Mofes, and ftand firmly to
all their pretenfions : nay, we fee them have recourfe to the remedy of
repentance which Mofes prefcribed them to ufe in thofe fad misfortunes
which he foretold fhould befall them, and out of which he promifed, at
the fame time, that God would miraculoufly deliver them ; which in-
deed was done accordingly, even fourteen times within lefs than four
hundred years, as is mamfeft frum the book of Judges.
Can there then be a more pregnant argument, that if Mo/es made it
death, by one of his fanCtions, for any of the Ifraelites to conteft the
truth either of his writings, or of his oracles and miracles, it was not
to force the belief of them without examination, but rather only to pre-
vent the corruption of that people, and their mingling and confounding
themfelves with the heathens, which God intended to hinder on purpofe,
becaufe he would have theMeffiah to be born, according to his promife,
out of that nation ; which toefFecSt, he thought fit, in his infinite wif-
dom, to employ the rigour of fome capital laws, to keep that people
unmixed and diftinguifhed from all other nations of the world, till the
Meiiiah was born I
CHAP. XXII.
The Conferences of tvhat %ve have proved in our foregoing Obfervaiiom
upon the Book of Genesis.
THESE feveral obfervations which 1 have made upon the Book of
Gencfts, are all, I think, very natural and eafy ; and, if I am not
miitaken, fufficient to prove folidly the truth of Mofes's account, of
the creation of the world, and of the promife of the Meffiah, which is
the foundation of the Chriftian religion.
The conclufion that I draw out of the premifes is, that,
Firft, I afTert, that Mofes, that famous Hebrew who was defigned to
be the heir of Pharaoh's daughter, is the true and fole author of the book
of Gene/is.
Secondly, I maintain, that this being once granted, he could not,
according to his way of writing, record thofe important tranfaclions he
relates, otherwife than they really came to pafs.
Thirdly, I maintain, that though he had not been an eye-witnefs of
the creation of the world, yet he hath made the description of it accord-
ing to fuch an authentic tradition as cannot be reafonably doubted of,
becaufe it was then the univerfal tradition, not only of the Mcabites,
of the Ammonites, of the Ijhmaelites^ and of the Edomites, who were all
of Shejns poflerity, and amongil whom he had been travelling for forty
years together ; but alio of the Egyptians, of his own people, and, in a
word, of all men then living in tne world.
Fourthly, 1 maintain, that he never was found fault with, nor con-
tradicted, till true reafon and fenfe, if I may fay fo, was loft and banifhed
from
2$2 Rtfexlons upon Gent fit. Ch. XXIf.
from amongft mankind, till the Egyptians, for example, they who ufed
before to look, upon the Greeks as mere children and ideots, were fallen
into fo great a ftupidity aiul depravation of fenfe, as to believe and
maintain that men were fir ft born in Egypt, becaufe, forfooth, frogs did
naturally, as they thought, breed out of their muddy fens and marfhes.
Fifthly, I maintain, that for many ages after Mojcs nobody did ever
publicly declare for the eternity of the world, nor yet for its fortuitous
production. Thefe opinions are mere abfurdities and chimeras, brought
forth into the world by the Chaldeans and Greeks, only about Alexander %
time, or perhaps an hundred years before him, i, e. about eleven or
twelve hundred years after Mofes's deceafe.
Sixthly, I maintain, that feeing there is no particular time to be found
wherein the reading of the law was interrupted and difcontinued for any
confiderable time amongft the Jews ; feeing it continues ftill to this very
hour amongft them every fabbath-day, in thefeveral places of the world
wherein they are difperfed ; and feeing befides, that it is certain that
this law, which enjoins the obfervation of the fabbath, in remembrance
of the creation, could never be impofed upon them, without their per-
ceiving and declaring prefently the novelty and fuppofition of that ac-
count, and consequently of the book wherein it is related ; — feeing all
this is certain, I do pofitively maintain, that the truth of the creation
can never be better proved, than it is by the book of Gcnejis, becaufe in
it Mofes hath followed the tradition of all the ages that preceded him,
and only recorded in writing, whatwas then generally knownof all men
in the world ; and that, in a time when every man was able to run his
own pedigree up to Adam.
Laftly, I maintain, that as the certainty of the creation cannot rea-
fonably be doubted of, without rejecting at the fame time all thofe
proofs from facts which I have brought to ftrengthen my affertion, fo
there is all the reafon in the world to entertain the belief of it, as a matter
of fact which is indifputable ; as being related by the moft ancient hif-
torran, confirmed by the moft ancient tradition, believed by the moft
ancient people of the world, who did not only believe it, but alfo had
always had, according to God's command, the memory of it celebrated
amongft them and their anceftors, in all their generations, fifty-two
times in a year, from the very beginning of the world.
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
WHEN I began at firft thefe Reflexions upon the book of Gene]is*
I defigned only to demonftrate the certainty of the creation of
the firft man, and fo to (hew, by arguments from matters of fact, that
neither the creation of the world, nor yet the promife of the Meffiah,
which God made to man after his fin, can reafonably be difputed or
doubted of.
I defigned, after that, to eftablifh the truth of Chrift's refurre&ion, by
fuch another undeniable argument, viz. by (hewing that the apoftles
Were cye-witnefTes of it, and inftituted a folemn day in every week to
celebrate and perpetuate the memory of it, amongft men, from their
time down to the end of the world. And this I thought was fufficient
to demonifrate the truth of the Chriftian religion : for as the yeivs^ by
the continual celebration of the fabbath every week, could eafily run,
back to the creation of the world, which was the occafion of the infti-
tution of the fabbath, fo the Ciiriftians may, by the weekly obfervation
of the Lord's day, prove Chrift's refurrection, which occasioned the in-
fritution of the Lord's day. If we confider the thing in itfelf, there is
no Ids abfurdity to difpute our Saviour's refurrection, than the creation
of the firfl man.
Now if this argument holds, as there can be no eafier, fo neither can
there be a ftronger proof of the truth of the Chriftian religion ; for, pro-
vided we be once well aflured of the certainty of Chrift's refurrection,
we muft acknowledge him to be the true Meffiah, and confequently em-
brace his religion.
But it feems, in the heat of meditation, I was infenfibly carried fur-
ther in my obfervations upon the promife of the Mefliah, than I thought
at firfl to be. Therefore, inftead of puffing now, as I propofed in the
beginning, to the proof of Chrift's refurrection, which is a folid and
compendious way of demonftrating the truth of his religion, I find my-
felf engaged, according to my prefent method, to continue to make the
like Reflexions upon the other Books of Holy Scripture, that I may yet
more fully demonftrate that Jefus Chrift is the true Meffiah, whom
God promifed to man immediately after his fin.
And this I intend to fhew fo plainly, as will make it evident that God
hath really accomplifhed his firft defigns, and exactly performed all his
promifes relating to the Meffiah, according to the firft ideas he gave of
his coming, to the ancient Patriarchs.
Firfl
ii PREFACE.
Firft, then, I defign to trace up the method that God was pleafed to
ufe, to make the Mefliah known without miftake, whenever he mould
come into the world.
Secondly, I will make fome Reflexions upon the feveral notions he
gave of him long before, in his oracles, to characterife his perfon, his
offices, his actions, his fufferings, his glory, &c
Laft of all, I will fhew that we have all this whole project and defigri
exactly accomplifhed in the hiftory of the Gofpel, as it was written by
Chrift's difciples. Now, as this method which God hath particularly
chofen to make the Mefliah known, appears alfo in the other Books of
Mofes ; fo I think it will not be amifs for me particularly to view and
examine thefe Books, that I may have occafion to illuftrate feveral things
in them which deferve a particular attention, efpecially when they are
considered together, and as it were at one view.
For the prophecies being thus confidered together in their connexion
and progrefs, do more plainly evidence God's defign, and may better
convince or confound the yews. Therefore 1 intend accordingly to con-
fider thofe oracles with attention, and to join them together, that fo
they may in their conjunction caft forth the brighter beams of light, to
the conviction of all infidels who may happen to perufe this book.
For I am perfuaded that, after the perufal of my obfervations in it, an
ordinary attention in the reading of the Gofpel will be fufneient to con-
vince any man that Jefus Chrijl is the true Mefliah, which is all I in-
tend to prove, as the conclufion of this Treatife.
Now as the examination of the Patriarchs religion according to the
account Mofes hath given us of it in his book of Genejis, hath taken
up the firft part of it ; fo I defign to examine in this fecond part the
jfraelites religion, and to follow in my fearch the account which Mofes
gives of it in his other four Books.
And as, to effect this, it is very important to eftablifh beforehand the
authority of thofe four Books ; fo I intend to fhew, firft of all, that
Mofes is the true author of them, and that they have intrinfic charac-
ters of undeniable certainty.
Then, fecondly, it will be natural for me to fhew, that Mofes, in the
writing of them, had the promife of the Mefliah in view, as particu-
larly promifed of God to the Patriarchs of his own nation, and as being
consequently the principal, if not the fole object of their hope.
Thirdly, I intend to fhew, that if we ferioufly examine Mofes's laws,
we fhall find in them fuch a method obferved, as is both very agreeable
to the manifestation of God's defign in Gene/Is, and very worthy of his
wifdom, efpecially if we confidcr what he was pleafed to reveal unto
us, of his intentions, by the Prophets who followed Alafes.
REFLEXIONS.
REFLE XIONS
UPON THE FOUR LAST
BOOKS OF MOSES,
T O
ESTABLISH THE TRUTH
OF THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION,
CHAP. I.
That it cannot reafonably be doubted, but that Moses is the Author of
Exodus, and of the three other following Books.
TH I S is a truth which may be grounded upon feveral folid argu-
ments.
I might obferve, That Mofes hath always been acknowledged, by the
Very heathens themfelves, not only to be the moft ancient hiftorian, but
alfo the moft ancient legiflator in the world.
I might likewife obferve, That there is a particular connexion betwixt
the book of Genejzs and the other books of Mofes, as well in regard of the
general defign of their author, as of the matters treated of in them. For
example, we fee that the greatefr, partof the laws and tranfa£tions which
we find written and recorded there, derive their original from thofe
tran factions and patfages that we read of in Gene/is, Thus we may plainly
difcern
286 Reflexion: upon tU Cti.h
difcern that the pretenfion of the Ifraelites upon the land of Canaan,
was grounded upon the promife that God made to Abraham to give it to
Kis pofterity, in the fourth generation. Thus we may fee that the Jma-
lekites could have no other reafon to make war agai nit the Ifraelites, than
the old alliance that was formerly made betwixt Amalek and the Canaan-
ites, which without doubt engaged his pofterity to be the firft oppofers
of theeftablifhment of the Ifraelites in the land of Canaan. Thus we fee
that thefeditions of the Ifraelites againft Mofes, under Corah, Dathan, and
Jbiram, did proceed from the order of the birth of the children of Ifrael,
as it is fet down in Genefis, becaufe the eldeft, thinking themlelves
wronged of their birthright, thought they might juftly rebel againft Mofes
in order to recover it.
But I hafte to things more material than thefe. And, firft, it is here
obfervable, that thofe books were not only religioufly kept in every fa-
mily of Ifrael, but that they were alfo once folemnly depofued in the
tabernacle as a public record, and that by Mofes himlelf, a little before
his death, that they might be a teftimony againft that people, as we read
it Deuteronomy xxxi. lb.
Secondly, it cannot be denied that Mofes did ftraitly charge both
Jojhua and the heads of the people to read them frequently and care-
fully, for it is exprefsly faid fo, Jojhua i. 8. Nay, we fee, about 500 years
after, the holy man David, who had made, during his life, the fupreme
felicity of a man to confift in the reading of the law of God day and
night («)— we fee, 1 fay, that holy man give on his death-bed the fame
charge to Solomon, I.Kings.
Thirdly, moreover, it is certain that there were many laws and fane-
tions contained in thofe books, which are the foundation of the hiftory
of fucceeding times ; and this is the reafon why we read nothing in the
book of 'Jojhua concerning the feveral bleffings and curfes which were to
be pronounced upon the mounts Ebal and Gerizim, becaufe the form of
them was to be borrowed from the books of Mofes, which were public
and authentic. The fame reflexion may be made upon the law of the
firft-fruits, and upon the prayer which was to be made upon the tithes
of the third year; as likewife upon many other laws.
Fourthly, it is certain that thofe books were read over every feventh
year, according to the injunction of that law which we find mDeute-
ronc/ny xxxi. 10, II. which was commanded to be done for the inftruc-
tion of pofterity, as it is intimated in the thirteenth verfe of the fame
chapter. Whereupon it may not be prepofterous to confider here God's
methods, to prevent all forgery and impofture in this matter.
We fee that it was, during the longevity of human life, a conftant
and univerlal cuftom amongft all the Patriarchs, to Mofes's time, to put
(when they lay on their death-beds) their pofterity in mind of the moft
important truths, and of the fundamental articles of religion ; becaufe,
as .ill admonitions and exhortations made at fuch a time are always
looked upon as fincere, fo they fe'dom fail of being favourably conftrued
and better entertained than they would be at any other time. We have,
as inftances of this ancient cuftom, the examples of Abraham, of Ijaac,
of Jacob, of Jfeph, &c. who in that, I make no doubt, followed the
cuftom
(») Pfal. 1.
CH. I. four laji Booh of Mofes. 287
cuftom of their pious aneeftors, who, in all likelihood, derived it from
Adam himfelf. That cuftom, we fee, was of an admirable ufe to perpe-
tuate the memory of illuftrious tranfaitions : what was then fpoken by
thofe pious venerable men, was a kind of a public fermon, becaufe it
was delivered before thofe numerous families which met then all toge-
ther about the bed of their common head and father ; and that, upon
fuch an occafton as did extraordinarily excite their attention.
To this cuftom fucceeded another, which was, that when the greateft
captains and judges of the people of Ifrael were fenfible of their ap-
proaching death, then they ufually called the people together, to give
them fuch exhortations, reproofs, and admonitions, as they judged moft
proper, either for their encouragement, or for their reformation ; nay,
and that even in fome occafions many of them have affected to have
their fpeeches made public, and depofited in the tabernacle : thus did
Mofes and Jo/hua, and the greateft number of the Judges, and Samuel,
and Solomon, &c.
We know that the books of Mofes were formerly read every fabbath-
day, as St. James doth atteft it in ASls xv. And though there be no
cxprefs command about it in Mofes's writings, yet we find there fome-
thing equivalent to it, in the ftrict charge given bv him to all the peo-
ple, to be continually converfant in his books, and to inftrufl their fa-
milies at all times in the laws and doctrines delivered in them ; for it is
plain, that if the Ifraelites were bound by that command of Mofes to
read his books every day, they were more particularly obliged, by the
fame command, to read them on the fabbath-day, which was made aday
of reft by God, particularly on purpofe that all men might the better
attend on that day to the reading and meditatirtg God's laws, and the
performing all other religious duties.
We know befides that thofe books were continually explained both by
the doctors of the law, and the Levites, who were on purpofe difper fed
through the whole land of Canaan, that they might the better attend
and perform the duties of their miniftry.
We fee that Mofes in his writings hath exactly kept a kind of journal,
which cannot eafily receive any alteration. If we read hereupon what
relates to the fojourning cf the Ifraelites, and the feveral removals of
their tents in the defert, we (hall be eahly convinced by the very form
and ftyle of thofe books, as we have them now, that they were formerly
publicly received, and were exactly tranferibed out of the original, and
that, if in procefs of time they fuffered any alteration, it was only as to
fome appendixes or poftferipts inferted by Efra, or fome other Pru-
phet, by way of explication.
We fee in thofe books a hiftory written without difguife or partiality,
exact in relating all circumftances, of places, times, and perfons, even
in the narration of things of fmall importance for the main drift of the
author; there are, befides, fome paiiages recorded in them, which any
author who lived after Mofes''?, time would certainly have left out, if
for no other reafon, yet at leaft to abolifh the memory of fome actions
difhonourable to fome great families, and whole tribes of Ifrael.
Again, we read in them the fongs and other public monuments
which
288 Reflexions upon the Ch. I.
which were made upon extraordinary occaiions, to preferve the memory
of them the better.
I have but three obfervations more to make here, and then I have
done with this chapter.
The firft is, that thofe books have been conftantly quoted by all the
authors amongft that people who followed Mofes, and that their quota-
tions do exactly agree with the text of thofe books, as we have them
now ; which is a certain fign, as well of the fincerity, as of the anti-
quity of that author. They were as much efteemed in Ifraelzs in Judab,
both people did obferve them as their law : the Prophets that arofe
from time to time, did always, and upon all occafions, acknowledge and
maintain their authority.
Thus we find in the book of Jojbua, quoted out of them, what re-
lates to the curies and bleffings, to the prophecies, and divifions of the
land of Canaan amongft the tribes of Jfrael. The whole hiftory of
the thirteen judges whom God raifed up amongft the people, is no-
thing, in general, but an account of the accomplishment of that pro-
mile which God hath formerly made to Mofes, to raife up from among
that people fuch men, in the time of their afflictions and captivities, as
would be the afiertors of their liberty.
We fee there, in particular, the execution of Mofes'?, order concern-
ing Calebs and of that law in Deuteronomy which prefcribes the man-
ner of difmifling from the army thofe that are fearful and faint-hearted,
and of that other concerning the Nazarites (o), &c.
Thus we fee, that the rules and laws prefcribed in thofe books con-
tinued in force in the time of Ruth, Dai id's great grandmother, that
appears plainly by their obfervation of thole laws which enjoined the
next kinfman to take to wife the widow of his deceafed relation, and to
redeem his inheritance. As for David and Solomon, they are continually
alluding to fomething or other delivered in thofe books : Nehemiah
quotes them in Chap. xiii. of his book, and that was in the year of the
world 3563 ; and fo does Malachi in the Chapters jv. and v. of his
prophecy, in the year 3580.
• The Second obfervation, which is very material, is, that the author
of thofe books hath inferted in them an exprefs prohibition of adding
any thing to them, as we fee it Deuteronomy iv. 2.
It is then impoflible, feeing that the whole people of the Jews have
always acknowledged the Divine authority of thofe books, that they
ihouldever have attempted the alteration of any thing in them.
Nay, we fee, not without wonder, that after the greateft part of the
ten tribes of Ifrael were tranfportcd into AjJ'yria, thofe that were fent
from AJJyria to inhabit their country, did receive that law, and that
their pofterity have kept it all along to this day, as uncorrupted as the
Jews, although they continue their mortal enemies, and have been ex-
pofed to all the changes and resolutions that can beiall a nation, during
the long interval of 2400 years.
The third obfervation, which defcrves a fmgular attention, is, that
notwithstanding the great and many corruptions which the common-
wealth of Ijrael fell into, yet thefe books have ftill been kept up in the
fame
(0) Judg, i. 20. Judg. vii. 3. Judg. jdii. 3.
Ch. H. four lafl Books of Mofes. 2H9
fame form that we have them now : it appears out of the hiftory of
Jofeah, related 2 Kings xxiii 21. that after the book of the law, of
Mofes's own writing, was found in the temple, the king commanded
all ciie people to keep the paffover unto the Lord, as it is zvritten in the
book of this covenant: now we have the inftitution of the paffover, Exod.
xii. which fhews that Jofiah, by the book of this covenant, meant the
books of Mofes, fuch as we have them nowadays, and fuch as they were
when Mofs dcpofited them into the fandtuary.
It is important to confider well all that is related in the forementioned
chapter of II. Kings ; for we may gather out of it that it was according
to the directions of this law that they began to reform all the fuperfti-
tions and idolatries which had been introduced in their religion, and
countenanced by the royal authority, from Solomon's time to Jofiah:
this chapter relates and commends the proceeding of Jofiah, only in
oppofition to the ill government of his predeceflbrs, and to the public
monuments of their fuperftitions, which he abolifhed in obedience to
God's laws, contained in the books of Mofes.
However, it is certain, that it was no eafy matter to impofe herein
upon pofterity.
For, fir ft, the tranfadions recorded in the books of Mofes did not
only relate to the people of Ifrael, but alfo to moft of the neighbouring
nations.
Secondly, the memory of them continued (o lively and univerfal,
that, almoft 1500 years after Mofes, the names of thofe magicians fpoken
of, Exod. vii. 11. were as yet known, not only amongft the Jews, as
we fee it by an exprefs paffage of St. Paul, who fpeaks of them, and
mentioneth their names, 2 Tim. iii. 8. but alfo among the heathens,
as both Pliny and Numenius do atteft it (p).
I point only at thofe general proofs at prefent, becaufe I have already
made ufe of them, and fhewed their force in myobfervations upon Genefis^
and becaufe I intend to repeat and improve fome of them hereafter
in this treatife. But now, in order to follow my prefent defign, I muft
come to the more particular confideration of the things contained in
thefe books, which will much conduce to the confirmation of the fame
truth.
CHAP. II.
That both the Character of Moses'j Perfon, and the Nature of the Things
he relates, have always made Men read his Books with Attention.
THE fubjecl: of fome books is fuch, as that alone would recom-
mend them to the attention of any reader, though their author
had no reputation in the world ; but when, befides the importance of
Vol, I. T their
</) Hiji, Nat, 1. 30, c. I.
290 Reflexions upon the Ch. II.
their fubjecl:, the author of them is famous and of great repute, then, to
be fure, they never fail to be read with ferious attention, and preferved
with as great a care. The books of Mcfcs have both fchfee advantages,
fo that they cannot reafonably be fufpected of the leaft alteration or
forgery.
The firft character that we difcover in thefe books, at the firft viewing
of them, is the great Angularity and admirable diverfity of their ftyle,
and of the matters they treat of.
We do not fee that other legislators did ever affect to act the parts of
hiftorians ; no, they content themfelves with their abfolutc power to
make laws, without giving any reafon for the fandtion of them ; there-
fore we fee that there is commonly nothing more dry and faplefs than
all their regulations, about both civil and religious matters.
But Mofes, we fee, hath followed a more reafonable and more fatisfac-
tory method : all his regulations are grounded upon the great tranfac-
tions which he relates; he enacts no law of any confequence, but he
intimates to the Jews, at the fame time, the reafons which challenge
their obedience, and makes them by that means reflect both upon the
feveral mercies of God beftowed upon them, and call to mind the great
miracles they had been eye-witnefVcs of.
1 confefs, indeed, that the ufe and fcope of fome of his regulations
is very abftrufe, efpecially now that we are ignorant of the feveral hea-
then Cuftoms which God defigned to abolifli from among that people
newly come out of Egypt, where during their captivity they had com-
plied and accuftomcd themfelves in a great meafure to the rites and
religion of their matters the Egyptians. But yet, how abftrufe foever the
defign of fome of thefe laws may now appear to be, we have good
ground to affirm, that the general fcope of them all was, to keep that
people from idolatry in diftinguiihing them from all other nations, as
alio to quicken their defires and expectations of the MeJJiah, thepromife
of whole coming had been made by God in the very beginning of the
world, and renewed feveral times to the heads of their nation.
However, we fee in the books of thofe laws, religion and policy fo
interwoven together, that the latter feems tofubfifl only by the fupport
and afliftance of the former; which is contrary to the cuftom of human
legiflators, who do not fo much regard the eftablifhment of religion, as
the prefervation and welfare of the ftate and commonwealth.
If any Jewhzd a mind to be informed about the tradition of his an-
ceflors, and the tranfactions of old, Mofes hath preferved it with fuch
care, with fo many marks of fidelity, and fo clear and plain, that there is
no other hiftory befides his, that can give any fatisfactory information
about the original of things ; all the fables of the heathens, which yet
make up the mod ancient tradition they have, being nothing elfe but a
corruption and depravation of the feveral truths that Mofes relates in his
hiftory.
If any Jew defired to fee the beginnings of that commonwealth of
which he was a member, AJofts gives an accurate account of them.
If any Jeiv defired to know the original of mankind, or what was
the ti ue lia^pinefs of man, and what he ought to do, in order to be a par-
taker
CH. II. four hjl Books of Mofes. 29 1
taker of that happinefs, Mofes teaches all that with great evidence and
exadtnefs.
If any Jew had a mind to know the occafion of thofe fongs that
were fo much in fafhion among thofe of his nation, he might eafily fa-
tibfy his curiofity, by reading Mofei's hiftory.
If any Jew defired to know what fort of exhortations they were,
which the Founder both of their religion and commonwealth had
formerly made to their fore-fathers, Mofes relates a great many of them
in his books.
If any Jeiv had a mind to receive inftruclion about the original and
caufe of thofe temporal bleflings he enjoyed in the land of Canaan,
which God had pofi'efled his nation of, after the expulfion of thofe
people that had been the inhabitants of it for many ages, Mofes gives
as good account of all that, as can be defired.
If any Jew had a mind to know the original of the feveral calami-
ties that befell his nation on feveral occafions, Mfes acquainted them
both with the caufe and remedy of all their afflictions.
Laftly, if the Jews defired to be informed of the future condition of
their commonwealth in after ages, Mofes foretells it in fo particular and
clear a manner, that they might look upon his prophecies, not as cer-
tain prophecies only, but as a plain hiftory of future events, begun and
traced out before their accomplishment.
All this is fo much the more confiderable, to oblige us to read the
books of M>ofes with care, that we may juftly obferve three things in his
perfon, which as they raife him above all common authors, fo they can-
not but ftrengthen the belief, and increafe the efteem and veneration,
which we ought to have for his hiftory.
The firfi: is, that whereas all men are careful to conceal their own in-
firmities, and whatever is difhonourablc to their families, Mofes on the
contrary feems to have afFecled to record all the things that could blemifh
the memory of his anceltors, and derogate to his own reputation. He
blemifhes Jacob's memory, by his relating how he preferred Jofepb,
the fon of his beloved wife, to Reuben his eldeft, whom he unjuftly de-
prived of his birthright, in favour of the other ; which injufticeis ex-
prefsly forbidden by one of Mofes's laws.
Thus he lays an eternal blot and reproach upon the memory of Levi,
the head of his own family, when he mentions his cruelty and violence
againft: the Sichemites, and the difperfion of his posterity amono-ft the
other tribes of Ifrael.
Nay, what is more, he vilifies his own birth, by forbidding any mar-
riage betwixt an aunt and her nephew, feeing he relates that he himfelf
was born of Jocabed, both aunt and wife to his father Amram ; he de-
fenbes his own incredulity with all the ingenuity imaginable, when he
reprefents the feveral miracles which God wrought by him; he feems to
fpeak of himfelf, only to lay open his own failings and fins. Such a fin-
cerity and impartiality, we know, confirms and increafes mightily the
authority of any author.
The iecond thing is, that Mofes, not regarding the advantage and ho-
nour of his own family, left the government of Ifrael to Jofhua, one of
the tribe of Ephraim, and fo reduced his own children and their pofte-
T 2 rity
2$2 Rrfiexions upon the \ Ch. II.
rity to the low condition of the rctt of the Levitts, who were of an in-
ferior rank to that of priefts ; for we do not fee that they ever after re-
newed the pretenfions which they might otherwife have had to fucceed
Mofes. Now, fuch negledl of his family fhews that Mofes's principles
were raifed much above the ordinary pitch of the generality of law-
givers, who were ahfolute and fupreme over their people.
The third thing obfervable here is, that Mofes had no fhare in the
conqueft of the land of Canaan; it all was fubdued after his death : nay,
it was that conqueft that fixed and fettled the commonwealth of I/rae/,
which was before unfettled, and as it were ambulatory in the defert.
Now, how could fuch a fingular defign, as Mofes defcribes in his law, be
put in execution by any other than by him that formed it ? It was Jojbua
that made this conqueltof the land of Canaan, and pofTeHed the Jews of
it. Now, to be fure, if that people had not been then fully perluaded of
the Divine authority of Mofes's law, they v/ould never have failed, after
fo great an alteration, tomalceufe of their power and liberty in throwing
off the troublefome yoke of his laws; nor yet would foffjua, and all his
fucceffbrs in the government, ever have maintained the authority of thofe
laws, if they had not looked upon Mofes, not only as an extraordinary
man, but alfo as one particularly commiliionated by God to make that
body of laws for the regulating of his people.
We read, in thofe bocks, of Mofes's dying in the mountains of Moab :
now, that being luppofed, how is it pofiible, that if the people of Ifrael
had not been fully convinced that God himfelf gave their law to Mofes
with all the circumftances mentioned by him, they would have con-
tinued to keep up fuch a ridiculous and ill-grounded conceit ? If he had
really by his tyrannical authority forced the Ifaelites into a compliance
to his laws during his life, why did they not, as foon as he was dead,
with the fear of his authority, fhake off the yoke of his laws, and all
refpedt for his memory ?
One thing we may remark as very furprifing in the relation of that
legiflator's death, which is, that his body was not found after his
death.
For we do not fee that that people, which otherwife kept up and car-
ried about with fo much care, the bones of Jofepb and his brethren, in
order to bury and depofit them in the fepulchres of their anceitors
(for both Jofepb and his brethren were interred in Judea), did ever
build a tomb to their law-giver, or fo much as pretend to fhew his fe-
pulchre.
Jofephuswas of opinion that Mofes wrote himfelf the account of his
own death, for fear the Jews fhould ever imagine, and fo give out, that
God had taken him up into heaven. I fee, I confefs, no folidity in that
conjecture of his ; but yet it may give us occafion to make a reflexion
hereupon, I think, more natural and eafy, which is, that God had a
mind, as Jojhua intimates it, to confirm the many characters of divinity
that appeared in the law of Mofes, by taking away from before the eyes
of thefewshls corpfe, which they would certainly, if they had not been
fo prevented, have kept with more care than thofe of all their patriarchs
und k gs. Thedefcription of the manner of Mofes's death, fhews evi-
dently that he was not only in great cilcem during his life, but that
even
Cff. III. four lajl Books of Mofes. 293
even his death did much conduce to the increafe of ir, and fo make men
look upon him as one glorioufly raifed up above the common condition
of men, and in a manner not obnoxious to the infirmities and miferies
incident to human nature. But after thefe general reflexions, I muft
come to thofe that are more particular.
CHAP. III.
That the Truth of the Miracles related by Moses cannot reafonably be
doubted of.
WHOEVER will examine with attention the four laft books
of Mofes, fhall find in them feveral paffages recorded, which
deferve a particular confideration.
As, firft of all, the miraculous birth, the extraordinary education,
the heroical courage, and the Divine call and commiflion of Mofes, and
the feveral miracles which he wrought in Egypt, to bring the Ifraelites
out of it, and lead them to the borders of Canaan.
Then, fecondly, all the mora), ceremonial, and political laws, which
Mojes gave to that people from God.
And, laftly, Mofes % prophecies concerning their future condition,
their victories, their captivities, their tranfportations, concerning the
deftru&ion of Jerufalem, the coming of the Mejfiah, and the difperfion
of their whole nation,
All which paflages have as evident and authentic proofs of their cer-
tainty, as things of that nature are capable of.
Let us firft begin with the narration of the miracles recorded in the
beginning of Exodus.
Wherein we fee, that after Mofes had reprefented'the death of Jofepb,
and of all the generation that came down with Jacob into Egypt, he
writes his own hiflory, and reprefents himfelf as another Noah, faved
out of the waters, to fave and deliver that holy family.
The whole relation which he makes of all thofe particulars, is very
ftrange and extraordinary ; but yet his circumcifion, and the inftruc"iion
of his mother, to whom he was given by the daughter of Pharaoh, to
be nurfed up; and the converfation of that princefs, who had adopted
him, and made herfelf a profelyte, as the Jews endeavour to prove
from 1 Chron. iv. 18 {q)\ and his education in the court of Egypt, and
his acquaintance with all the grandees of that court; did concur together
to acquaint him with that remarkable prefervation of his perfon, and
perfuade him of the certainty of it.
For how could Mofes either impofe, or be impofed upon, in that mat-
ter ? Was not that barbarous cruelty of the Egyptians by which they
compelled the Jews, about the time of Mofes's birth, to throw their chil-
T 3 drert
(y) Jalk. in h. 1. ex Vajikra Rat.
294 Reflexions upon the Ch. III.
dren into the river Nilus, notorioufly known of all men ? Were not
the public buildings, and ftrong cities, viz. Pythom and Ramefcs, fo
called from the name of king Ratnefes Miamum, (landing in the fight of
all men ? And was it not publicly known by all the world, that the
poor Ifraelites were the flaves and drudges who were made ufe of to ere&
thofe buildings ?
Neither could the manner of his education be unknown to him, nor
yet to any of the Hebreivs ; for we do not join here to Mofes % narration,
whztjcj.phus relates of his perfon, of his feats in Meroe, and of his
marrying an /Ethiopian princefs, &c.
As Mo/n's miracles were done in the prefence of the Egyptians and
Jews, f( : y teftify that he had really received his calling and com-
mifiion from God in the defert j and that, juft in the manner as he de-
fcrrbes it himfelf.
i Now, no man can difpute the truth of thofe miracles, if he but minds
the following confiderations.
Firlt, it cannot be denied that the people of Ifrael was brought out
of Egypt by Msfes. Thei-r law, which the prefent Jews do ftill obferve,
fpeaks every where of that famous adlion of his ; there was never any
man difputed the certainty of that achievement. All ancient authors
make mention of it; Manethon (r) gives an account of the time, of
the manner, and of many other principal circumftances of that ex-
ploit.
Trogus Pcmpeius, Juflinus, and Tacitus, do a'.fo fpeak of it. Only
Tacitus does groundlefsly, 1 fuppofe, of his own head, relate, that
the Jtivs were expelled out of Egypt, becaufe of their leprofy : 1 fay
groundlefsly, for it is known that on the contrary leprofy was a common
diftempcr amongft the Egyptians, and that they infefted the Israelites
with it j fo that there is no likelihood they fhould be expelled by the
Egyptians for a diftemper that they got from them.
We know, befides, that the law of Mofes which calls the leprofy the
diftemper of Egypt, did banifh the lepers out of the congregation of the
people ; and then the nature of David's curfes againft Joab, becaufe of
his murdering Abnor, ihews fufficiently that the leprofy was looked upon
by the Jews as a diftemper moll commonly fent immediately from God.
Nay, Tragus Pcmpeius (s) himfelf obferves that the magicians caufed
Mofes, with the people of Ifrael, to be expelled, becaufe they themfelves
were ftruck with a kind of fcab and itch ; and that they were afraid
left the contagion of it mould infect the whole kingdom of Egypt (t).
And here lmuft not forget the mentioning the teftimony of JNumenius,
a Pythagorean philofopher, who relates that both Jannes and Jambres
were chcf.n by the Egyptians, to oppofe Mofes, and hinder the effe&s
of his miracles and prayers, which had brought down many grievous
plagues upon Egypt, juft about the time of the Jews banilhment out of
that country.
But fecondly, if the leprofy which the Ifraelites brought from Egypt,
be
. (•) J°f'pb contra App. !. t. 's) Jufin. 1. 36.
(/) Eujeb. trap. Rvurig. 1. 9. c. 8.
Ch. III. four laft Books of Mcfes. 2Q5
be an indifputable proof of their fojourning there ; it is as certain, that
the going out of that mixed multitude of Egyptians, who lb farefpoufed
the Ifraelites intereft, as to leave and forfake Egypt, their own country, to
accompany them, could have no other caufe or pretence than the mira-
cles of Mofes, whereof they had been eye-witnefTes ; fo that the pof-
terity of thofe Egyptians that were thus incorporated into the body of
the people of Ifrael, were in after ages as fo many witnefTes of the truth
of thofe miracles which formerly perfuaded their fathers to join with
Mofes, and fo to (hare fortune with the Hebrews.
Thirdly, it is certain, that the Jews could not fo much as mention
any of the miracles which they pretended were done formerly for the
deliverance of their fathers, without expofing themfelves to the fcorn of
all the world, if all thofe miracles, and their deliverance, had not been
certainly and generally known to the Egyptians, and to all the neighbour-
ing nations, by whom they were often fubdued and brought into fub-
jefition after the deceafe of Mofes and Jofhua.
To all thefe reflexions we may add, that the commemoration of the
Israelites going out of Egypt, with all the miracles wrought by Mofes,
was renewed yearly, not only by the folemnizing the feaff, of the pafT-
over, which the Ifraelites did conftantly keep to the time of their dif-
perfion, and which they do ftill keep in all parts of the world, but alfo
by two very fenfible ways.
The fiVft whereof, was thefeparation which God made of the tribe of
Levi, in order to confecrate it to his fei vice, inftead of the firft-born of
the people of Ifrael, whom he had fpared and preferved in Egypt) with
great folemnity, in regard both of men and beafts, as we read, Numb.
iii. fo that every Levite was as a living memorial of that great miracle,
wrought at the Ifraelites going out of Egypt.
And the fecond was the law concerning the redemption of every firft-
born, both of men and unclean beafts (k) ; which is obferved to this
hour among the Jews. It is clear and evident, that there is in all thofe
Jaws, a deep imprefTion of thofe feveral great miracles which compelled
Pharaoh to let the Ifraelites go.
Laflly, it is very obfervable here, that the memory of the deliverance
of Ifrael out of Egypt, wrought, as by many miracles, fo efpeciallyby
the death of the hrft-born of Egypt, which was the occafion of the in-
ftitution of the pafTover, continued amongft the Egyptians till after Jefus
Chrift : for till then they ufed to mark with red their fheep, their trees,
their houfes, and lands, the day before the pafTover, as any one may fee
in Epiphanius ; which cuftom could proceed from no other caufe, than
from the Egyptians fear of the like plague and mortality that was once
inflicted upon their forefathers, and from their hope of preventing it by
fuch a kind of talifman whereby they thought Mofes had formerly faved
the Ifraelites harmlels from that great plague, only by fprinkling the blood
of the lamb of the pafTover on the upper door-poft of their houfes.
(«) Numb, xviii. i6.
T 4 CHAP. IV.
296 Reflexions upon the Ch. IV.
CHAP. IV.
A Continuation of the Proofs cf the Truth of the Miracles wrought l>y
Moses.
THESE arguments might be thought fufficient for the evincing
the truth of thefe miracles which Mofcs relates ; but yet i'ome-
thing more may be added.
As thofe ftupendous miracles by which the famous deliverance of the
Ijraelites was effected, could not be doubted of by thofe v/ho had been
eye-witnefies of them ; fo they were afterwards confirmed by feveral
other miracles, which, being as great, and almoft: of the fame kind, con-
tinued for many years in the fight of the whole people of Ifrael.
God made a pillar of fire, and of a cloud, attend upon the Ijraelites,
to guide them, the one by day, and the other by night. Ke divided the
Red Sea, to open a paifage through it for his people ; the memory whereof
(faith Eujebius) was preferved to his time, by thofe of Memphis fcx) : the
Ijraelites took, the fpoils of the Egyptians drowned, in the Red Sea, as they
were purfuing them : they made; a fong upon the occafion of that won-
derful deliverance; they were fed with manna, a kind of heavenly and
miraculous food ; they drank of that brook of water that was follow-
ing them wherever they went. All thofe miracles, with many others,
continued for forty years together without any interruption, and do
therefore firmly eftablifh the truth of thofe other miracles which Mcfes
relates, becaufe there were none of them wherein the people could be
impofed upon by any trick or iilufion, and of the truth whereof every
one could not fatisfy himfelf, by his own experience.
I do not fpeak now of feveral public monuments of thofe miracles;
as, for example, the rod of Aaron which blofTomed in a night ; the manna
which was kept in the tabernacle; the brazen ferpent, which, having
continued to Hezekiah\ time, was broken down by him, only becaule
the people offered incenfe to it.
From all which it mull: be acknowledged, that there was in the whole
feries of the Jeivijl) hiftory, both many pregnant evidences of the truth
of the fird miracles, and a conftant feries of miracles which, having
been foretold by Mojks, did the better confirm the truth of thofe which
he relates as done by him on purpofe to vindicate and defend the liberty
and honour of the people of Ifrael,
Becaufe I did juft now intimate that the memory of the Jcwijh de-
liverance did continue for many ages after amongft the Egyptians, I
think myfelf obliged to add here fome arguments, to prove that neither
iuch a tranfaction as that was, nor yet any of the like nature and im-
portance, could ever be forgotten in the land of Canaan.
There is nothing that in outward appearance feems more ridiculous,
than what is related concerning the Gibcomtes coming toj.ijhua's camp;
their equipage fhewed that they had a mind toperfuade the Ijraelites that
they
(x) L, 9. prap. Ev, cap. ult.
Ch. IV. four Haji Books of Mofes. 297
they came from a far country. The treaty which they extorted from
'Jojh a by fraud, is very lingular.
And there can be nothing more remarkable than their fubfiftencc
amon 'tl the people of Ifrael, notwithstanding that they were of the
number of thole nations which God had commanded to be deftroyed ;
and their b.-ing deftined, by Jojbuas appointment, to carry the wood
and the water necefTary for the fervice of the tabernacle, from whence
they were denominated Netkinims, and thereby for ever after diftinguifhed
from the Ifraeiites.
But after all, there could be nothing more agreeable to God's wiSdom,
than the prefervation of that people amongft the Ifraeiites. Their fathers
were the witneffes of Moles and Jojhua% miracles. Thofe miracles
obliged them to feelc the alliance of the Hebrews, and to cheat them into
it by a fraudulent treaty, becaufe they defpaired of compafling their de-
fign by any other means. Therefore their Subfifting amongft the Jews,
and their fervile office which expoSed them to the eyes of the whole
nation, could not choofe but be of an extraordinary ufe, to make that
people preServe and cherifh up the memory of thofe glorious a&ions
which every Gibeonite had perpetually before his eyes.
The fame remark may be made upon the continuing of Rahab's family
amongft the Ifraeiites, after the destruction of Jericho.
It is certain that the Jews have always believed, that, befides thofe
fir ft miracles related by Mofes, many others have been done fince for
their fakes, both to poSTeSs them of the land of Canaan, and to keep or
reftore them to the poSTeffion of it : nay, of thofe latter miracles many
are very like unto the former ; as, for example, the death of 185COO men
in the army of Sennacherib ; the returning of the Shadow backwards ten
degrees upon the fun-dial of Aha% \ the wonderful prefervation of the
whole nation by the means of EJiher, which was the occaiion of the infti-
tution of the feait of Purim amongft them ; and Several other miraculous
tran factions related in the Jewi/h authors, of which I will only name
three, which did preferve the memory of the greateft and moft important
miracles related by Mofes.
The firft is the continual miracle of the Urim and Thummim of the
high-prieft, which by its frequency did confirm the truth of Mofes's
relation concerning the Several apparitions of God, in order to lead his
people, and to give them laws.
The Second is the miracle of every Seventh year (v\ during which,
though the people of Ifrael did neither fow nor reap, God, according to
his promife, did Supply them with plenty of provifions, by making every
Sixth year extraordinarily plentiful. Now this miracle was a kind of a
memorial of that other great miracle whereby God did feed his people
with manna for forty years together in the defert, Still doubling the
proportion of manna every fixth day.
In eSfeit, as that law which commanded a Sabbath of reft unto the
land every Seventh year, was conftantly obferved, which would never
have been done long if that people had not always been fully convinced,
by their own experience, of its divinity ; and again, as that miracle was
fo publicly known, that God by his Prophets did often threaten' the
Jews
{y) Levit, xxv.
20,8 Reflexions upon the Ch. V.
Jews to deprive them of the fertility of the fixth year, beeaufe of their
tranfgrefling the fabbath ; fo it is plain, that no man can reafonably
doubt, or difpute the truth of that continual miracle which that law
both i'uppofeth and promifeth.
The third is the miracle of a continual protection during the time of
thofe great folemn feafts in which the people were obliged by God's
command to attend his fervice in the tabernacle or at Jerufalem. For this
law requiring attendance from all the Jews of the age of twenty and up-
wards, it engaged them to leave the frontiers of their country naked
and deftitute of men, and fo expofed to the inroads of their enemies ;
but at the fame time it gave them occafion to experience the fame Divine
protection which, as they had read in Mofes's writings, their fathers
had formerly fo often experienced againft all their enemies.
It is certain that there was never any commonwealth in the world
which had any fuch fundamental law ; the danger to which a country
is expofed by the obfervation of it, is too vifible not to be avoided.
Therefore the Jews, to be lure, would never have acknowledged that
law to be Divine, nor yet fubmitted to it, if they had not been i ecu re
of God's protection to prevent all the mifchiefs and inconveniences
that might arife from their obfervation of that law : fo that, fuppofe they
had been at firft fo ftupid and unwary as to receive it from Mojes, yet
they would never have obferved it fo constantly and fo long, if they haJ
not had a conftant trial of God's protection on all occafions, and if they
had not looked upon it as a necellary confequence and accomphfhment
of the promifes which he had made both to them and their fathers.
However, it is certain, that it was the will of God that the Jews
fbould altogether rely upon that miraculous protection of his : nay, the
diftrufting of it was fo ofrenfive to him, that he inflicted an exemplary
punifhment upon David, for an action which, thought innocent of itfelf
in a prince, did yet directly contradict that truft which the Ifraelites
were bound to fet upon God's protection ; for when David caufed the
people to be numbered, God fent apeltilence amongft his people, which
abated his pride, and thus taught him effectually to rely more upon God
for the future, than upon the multitude of his people.
CHAP. V.
That Moses'j Defcripticn of the Manner of God's giving him his Laws,
is evidently true.
IT is alfo equally eafy to fhew the truth of Mofes's defcription of the
manner of the promulgation of God's law in the deicrt, and of the
feveral parts of it, moral, political, ceremonial.
I (hall not ftand to confider here the admirable equity, and moft ab-
folute perfection of the moral law, and fhew that it could have no other
author
Ch. V. four laji Books of Mofes. 029
author but God alone; neither will I urge, in this place, the extra-
ordinary care God had to regulate the mod: minute ceremonies, that
there might be nothing left undetermined in all the acts of religion ; as
alfo the great and Divine wifdom that is difcernible in all thofe cere-
monial laws, which, befides their ufeful oppofition to the then Pa^an
cuftoms, do moft of them either mind men of their duty, or repreLnt
and typify the things that were to come to pafs under the Gofpel.
In {hort, I will not aggravate any farther the confederation of the ad-
mirable wifdom that appears every where in the whole body of the poli-
tical laws which God gave to the Jews, to fettle them into a firm and
folid form of government ; that wifdom is fuch, and fo vinble, that it
plainly demonitrates the divinity of them to any man that will but com-
pare the whole body of them, and their abfolute perfection, with the
defects of all human laws, and the feveral changes and alterations they
have received from time to time.
But I fhall lay afide thefe remarks, and choofe to come to thofe that
do not require (o much learning, nor fo great an intention of thought.
The firft. of which is, that the moral law was given in the fight and
hearing of all the people of lfruel, and that the promulgation of it, upon
mount Sinai, was accompanied with extraordinary marks of glory, and
made only after many previous purifications prefcribed to the whole
congregation in order to receive it.
It is true, indeed, the ceremonial laws which were annexed to it, were
not delivered to the people with fo much pomp and maieftv ; but as
they were alfo given in the fame defert, and rn the prefence of the elders
of the people affembled together near the tabernacle, after they had ear-
neftly intreated MoJ&s that God would no more fpeak to them himfelf,
it is evident that they are nolefs authentic than the moral law : there-
fore we fee that they were accordingly received by that people, notwith-
standing the troubles, expences, avocations, ftraights, and hardships,
which they might meet with by it.
Now is it in the leaft probable, that if this people had not been con-
vinced that Mofes did really familiarly converfe with God for forty days
and forty nights upon mount Sinai, they would foolifhly, without any
caufe, of a fudden have fubmitted to fuch a troublefome yoke of laws,
many whereof were oppofite both to their opinions and ancient cuftoms ?
It is well known, for example, whatjealoufy there was all alone-
amongft the tribes of Ifraei, even from the time of their anceftors ; yet we
do not fee that in thofe laws there is any notice taken of it, or regard
had to it, but that on the contrary they feem to foment that fpirit of
divifion, when they deprive Reuben of his birthright, in favour of Jofepb's
pofterity, and of the priefthood in favour of Levi, and of the kingdom in
favour of Judah, , g
Nay, we fee, that even after Mofes had compofed the difference that
was once betwixt the tribe of Levi and the followers of Qtrah, Daihan%
and Abiram, they were hardly brought to acquiefce to his decifion ; and
how could he then poffibly have railed his own tribe, the tribe of Levi,
to fuch prerogatives, and to fuch a plentiful condition above all the other
tribes, as he did, by aligning the firft fruits and offerings to the Levites
and
2Pd Reflexions upon the Ch. V.
and priefts — how could he, I fay, have done that without meeting with
fome oppofition from the reft of the people, except they had all been
convinced, by the miracle that God wrought to decide that queftion,
when it was difputed, that he himfelfwas the author of that conftitution?
Thus we read, that long after, when king Uzziab boldly prefumed
to act againft Adofes's law, Numb. xxv. and to aflume himfelf the
dignity of priefthood, and to do the functions of it, he prefently received
the punifhment due to his prefumption ; fo that, being ftruck with a fud-
den leprofy, he was confined to his dying day. Is it any ways probable
that a prince, efpecially of his temper, would have fubmitted to fuch a
confinement, and meekly refigned his crown to his fon, if that punifh-
ment inflicted upon him had not fully convinced him of the divinity of
that law which he had tranfgrefled arftl violated by his temerity and
prefumption ?
The third reflexion is, that the greateft part of thofe laws being in-
tended by God to infpire his people with an irreconcilable averfion
againft all thofe nations amongft whom they were going to fettle, they
were fo framed, as not only to be oppofite to the laws and eufloms of
Egypt , from whence they came, but aifo to thofe received amongft the
Hivites, Jmmcrites, and other nations, of whofe countries they were
going to poflVfs themfelves.
Thus we find in the xviiith of Leviticus, laws againft all inceftuous
marriages, which, wirhoutdoubt, were ordinary amongft the Ccmaartites
and Egyptians, who therein followed the examples of the ancient Pa-
triarchs, who married within thofe forbidden degrees : there we find alfo
the faenfices to Moloch forbidden, the practice whereof, thole nations,
in all likelihood, defended by the example of Abrahams facrifice.
Now, it cannot reafonably be thought that a whole nation would
of a fudden receive fuch laws as deprived them of a liberty and freedom
they had always hitherto enjoyed, and condemn of their own accord
thofe facrifices that had the faireft pretence of religion imaginable, and
to ufe many ceremonies contrary to thofe received amongft them, if they
had not a ftrong and extraordinary motive for fo doing.
There is another thing, beiides, that challenges uur confederation, viz.
the cxadf. description which God gave to Mofes of the tabernacle, of the
feveral parts of the ceremonial worfhip which was to be performed in
that facred place, and of the manner how this tabernacle, with all its
appurtenances, utenfils, and ornaments, was finifhed.
For as this tabernacle was then the center of the -whoWjewiJ}) religion,
(as the temple was afterwards by fucceding to it) fo it was a foleinn
proof of the divinity of Mojes's laws, and of the worfhip that was per-
formed the:e.
Is it conceivable, that a whole nation mould contribute to the build-
ing of it, fhould fee it confecrated, and taken to pieces, and fet together
again every day, and fhould read all the particulars relating to its con-
ftruction, and not dilcern whether there was any truth and reality in all
that was told them concerning the religion which their governor fixed
in that place wherein he pretended many revelations were made ?
CHAP. VI.
Ch. VI. four lajl Books of Mofes, ?oi
CHAP. VI.
Seme other Proofs that confirm Moses's Defer iptlon of 'the Manner how the
Laiv was given and promulgated*
BUT if it is fo eafy to efhblimthe divinity of the Law of Mofes 9
by fhewing the truth of the maiter of fact, according to the
manner of God's promulgation, as Mofes relates it, we may further
collect the truth of it, by joining thefe following reflexions to thofe
already made in the foregoing chapters.
Certainly if Mofes had been the ruff, founder of a kingdom, and had
been fucceeded in it by his own children and pofterity for many gene-
rations one after another, we might perhaps have had fome grounds
to fufpect that his fuccefTors, confulting their own intereft and honour,
would have been very glad to perfuade their fubjects, that the firft
founder of their kingdom had fome communication with God, and that
it was from him he received the laws and conftitutions which he gave
them concerning civil and religious matters.
But it is obfervable, that Mofes was {o far from invefting his own
children with the fupreme authority after himfelf, that he tranflated it
into another tribe, and conftituted Jofhua, of the tribe of Ephraim, for
his fucceffor in the government : as for his pofterity, he took little care
of it, but reduced it to a rank inferior to that of brow's family, which
he preferred to the moil honourable functions of the priefthood, leaving
to his own the meaneft and moft inconfiderable employments : all which
fhews evidently that none of thofe who came after Mofes were moved, by
any private intereft of their own, to defend the truth and authority of
his laws and writings, but only by the certain knowledge they had,
that they were all divine.
Neither ought we to omit to confider here the manner how Mofes de-
cides beforehand fuch queftions, and determines fuch controverfies, as
could not be raifed but after the conqueft of Canaan, which was made
by his fucceflbr only after his death ; and how thofe laws were con-
flantly obferved in all the fucceeding venerations of that people, and fub-
mitted tanto by the very judges and kings themfelves ; though there be
nothing more common than for a conqueror, fuch as fofhua was, to
admit of no other fundamental laws in that ftate he is the founder of,
than thofe which he is the author of. Nothing is more ufual, than for
ftatefmen to affect the expofing the conduct of their predeceilbrs, efpe-
cially when the form of government is altered, and from democratical,
or ariftocratical, is changed into monarchical, as it happened amongft
the Ijrael'ites. How then could Mo/ex's laws ftiJl keep up their autho-
rity in all changes and revolutions r How comes it to pafs, that in all
the fucceflions of judges and kings, there was never any of them at-
tempted to fufpend or annul Mojes's laws, much lefs to enact and give
any others contrary to them ?
' 3 Again,
302 Reflexions upon ihe Ctf. VI*
Again, how came It to pafs, that, in all thedivifionsand factions that
nation fell into, there was never any Jew endeavoured, with any fuccefs,
to undeceive the reft of his own people, fo as to make them fhake off the
troublefomeyoke of Mofes'% laws? No doubt, only becaufe the generality
of that nation never dilputed the divine origin and authority of them.
It were an eafy thing to demonftrate, by the whole feries of the Jevuifh
hiftory, that all thofe laws which in Mofes'% writings are inlayed one
within another, and reprefented as occafioned by feveral tran factions re-
lated there, have all been equally received of the Jrius, and have all been
put together in a body by themfelves before Mojls's death, as it may be
proved out of the xxxiil of Deuteronomy.
It appears, that thofe laws were public, and in great eftecm smongft
that people to whom God gave them, upon whom he laid an indifpen-
fable obligation to read them everyday, and to confult them upon every
emergent bufmefs.
It appears, that they were known equally of all degrees of men, fexes,
and ages, which were all obliged to pay obedience to them upon pain
of death.
It appears, that thofe laws were not only publicly kept in the taber-
nacle, but alfo privately read in every family.
We fee that a whole tiibe, viz. the tribe of Levi, was appointed by
God to explain them; and in order to that, they were difperfed through-
out the whole land of Canaan, and exempted from the cares and troubles
that neceiTarilv attend hufbandry, by the plentiful provifion of tithes
and offerings that was allotted to them.
We fee that God obliged all Jews to read and medkate upon them
continually, efpecially every fabbath-day.
Nay, and we fee moreover, that God every feventh year would have
them read publicly in a more folemn manner, before the whole congre-
gation of that people, who during that year were obliged to reft from
all their ordinary labours and employments, and fo had nothing clfe to
<lo, all that while, but to read the law, to examine it, and to meditate
upon it.
Laftly, it appears, that thofe laws were yet the more folemn and au-
thentic, becaufe they obliged the Jews to celebrate three fuch feafts as
were to be publicly kept by the whole nation, and confequently apt to
refiefh their memories, and put them in mind, thrice a year, not only
of the furprifing miracles that God had done them, but alfo of the
i r how he gave and promulgated his laws ; the miracles giving rife
to the laws, and thofe laws being themfelves a means of preserving the
i iry of thofe miracles, becaufe of the frequent commemoration of
them which was therein enjoined.
Nov.' thefe things being lb, let every one judge, whether the truth of
Mofes\% account (if God's giving, and promulgating by his means, that
if laws which he hath inferted in Exodus, and the following books,
, , or at leaft reafonably, be difputed, or doubted of. But I
Come now to coriiider the oracics recorded in Mofes's writings, in order
to demonftrate the truth and divinity of them.
CHAP. VII.
Cm. VII: four loft Books of Mofes. 303
C M A P. VII.
That there is no juji Exception can be againjl Moses'x Hifiory, in what
relates to the Oracles which he hath recorded in his Books.
THERE are feveral forts of Oracles in Exodus, and the other three
following Books.
Firft, there are fome whereof the accomplifhment did foon follow the
prediction.
The deliverance of the Jews out of the Egyptian bondage is of that
number; Mofes does promife and foretel it; nay, and he executed it
himfelf : and all the people to whom it was promifed and foretold, were
themfelves witnefTes of the accomplifhment of that prophecy; and it
was that accomplifhment which eftablifhed the divinity of his com-
miflion.
So is the other prophecy concerning the conqueft of the land of Ca-
naan, and the feveral divifions that were to be made of it amongft all the
tribes of Ifrael, Mofes foretelling exactly what lot every one fhould have,
and giving, befides, a deicription of the country that every tribe was to
inhabit.
Thofe that were born in the defert were witnefTes both of the pre-
diction and the execution of it, although it was by the calling of lots
that all the tribes got their feveral partitions.
But, fecondly, there are fome other oracles in Mofes's books, the ac-
complifhment whereof was not to follow the prediction till after a long
interval of time.
Such are the prophecies that foretel the future fubjection of the IfraeU
ites to the Canaanites, and the feveral deliverances out of that fubjection,
which God was to effecl: by the hands of judges, whom he was to raife
up for that purpofe.
Such again are the prophecies which relate to the future change of
their commonwealth into a kingly government.
Thirdly, and laftly, we fee that Mofes foretells all the accidents,
changes, and revolutions, that were to befall the Jew s, as long as their
ftate fhould ftand : at leaft, we fee that his predictions are very plain,
concerning their feveral captivities and removals, and their return into
the holy land; as alfo the fieges of Samaria and Jerufalcm ; and the
irrecoverable difperfion of the whole nation, which we fee at prefent.
But whatever difference there may otherwife be betwixt all thefe prer
dictions, we may fay, that every one of them hath as pregnant proofs
of its certainty and truth, as any thing of that nature1 is capable of.
For firft, as to the firft fort of predictions, the accomplifhment whereof
Mofes relates himfelf,
It plainly appears, that his account cannot in the leaft be fufpected
of impofture ; becaufe he wrote it amongft a whole nation, which could
not poiJibly be impofed upon in that cafe, feeing he fuppofes, and takes
it
304 Reflexions upon the Ch. VII.
it for granted, all along in his relation, that thofe predictions were be-
forehand publicly and generally known of all the people.
As for the accomplishment of the i'ccond fort of propeecies, we have
the relation of it in fuch other books as were written after Mofes's death,
as in the books of J '■ .jhua, of Judges, and feveral others, which relate
the accomplifhment of them, as of prophecies written many years, and
even fome ages before, by Mofes.
Befides, to this we may add, that the account which we find in thofe
books, concerning the accomplifhment of MofeSs prophecies, is inter-
woven with fuch hiftories as fuppofe, without any affectation, that his
prophecies, as well as his writings, were in the hands of all the world,
and distinctly known by every Jew.
And what is further obferva'ole, is, that the Jezvs have always had
Mofes's books in fuch an efteem, becaufe of thefe feveral illuftrious
prophecies that are contained in them, that they have always looked upon
him as the moft excellent of all their prophets. They affert, this very
day, that the other prophets had commonly no other knowledge of future
events than that which was communicated to them by dreams and vi-
fions ; whereas Mofcs had it by an immediate revelation of God himfelf,
who ufed to fpeak to him face to face, without any enthufiafm, when he
Was perfectly awake.
Now, how could ever the Jews have been fo ftrongly prepofTefTed of
that high opinion both of Mofes and his predictions, if we fuppofe that
they never faw the accomplifhment of any of them ?
That would certainly be as ftrange an illufion as ever was : for it is
befides obfervable, that thofe prophecies of his were not written by
themfelves, and kept fecret from the generality of the people; but that
they were inferted into the feveral fpeeches which he made to all the
people fome time before his death ; and which are written, and kept
together in the fame volume, to be a {landing monument, both of his
prophecies, and of his miniftry among the Jews.
Now there is a vaft difference betwixt a book that is all made up of
prophecies, and fo kept fecret, and feidom read, as the books of the
Sybils were, and a book wherein the prophecies it contains are inter-
woven with a hiftory wherein there is fo great a variety of matters, as
draws to it and fixes the attention of every reader, and wherein they
are mingled with a whole body of political and ceremonial laws, and
intermixed with the accounts which Mofes gives of all the great tranf-
actions which gave the occafion to fo many feveral revelations and pro-
phecies recorded in his books.
I am perfuaded that it is impoflible for any man to make thofe re-
flexions upon the opinion which the Jews entertained of Mofes's prero-
gative, and upon the manner that his prophecies, fo much reverenced
amongft them, were exactly accompli filed, and not be convinced of their
Divine authority.
CHAP. VIII.
Ch. VIII. four laj Booh of Mofts. 305
CHAP. VIII.
That the Tejlimony of the Jews is a conjiant Prof of the Truth of tht
Oracles related by Moses.
BUT left any body fhould think it ftrange that I fhould build the
truth of Mofes's prophecies upon the teftimony of the yews, I will
•reftrain its authority of" it within juft and certain bounds.
Firft, although the yews bear witnefs, in their facred books, that the
greateft part of Mofes's prophecies are already fulfilled, yet they fay fonse
are not; as, for inftance, thofe which relate to the Melliah's coming.
But their obftinate blindnefs is not a juft prejudice againft fuch an impor-
tant truth; to be convinced of which, we need only to compare Mofes's
words with the actions of Jefus Chrift.
Thus, for what relates to the deftru&ion of ferufalem, we need only
compare Mofes's prophecy of it, with the defcription "fbfepbus, their own
hiftorian, hath made of the fame in his hiftory of the liege and ruin of
that city, and of the diffipation of all the nations of thcfew s.
But without the fezvs teftimony, in what regards the accomplishment
of thofe prophecies whereof the execution was deferred for a very long
time, it is eafy to convince any the moft incredulous man of their truth
and divinity, if he pleafe but to make this one reflexion, which is, that
when Mofes relates amongft the oracles of the Patriarch yacob, a parti-
cular prophecy concerning the Meftiah's coming, and when he mentions
that of Balaam concerningthe riling of that'Divine ftar, he fubjoins alfo
st the fame time that concerning the vocation of the Gentiles to the faith,
and brings it in as a certain fign and confequence of the Melliah's being
come into the world.
Now, if we examine the meaning of Mofes's predictions about the
vocation of the Gentiles, which the Prophets that came after him did
better explain and illuftrate, we fhall be apt from thence to conclude,
that he in effect foretold that God in the days of the Meffiah would
follow quite another method than tha£ which he had ufed before until
the time of Mofes, viz.
That whereas God might feenf to reftrain then the privilege of his
covenant, to one people alone; which was in efFecl: to reftrain the ho-
nour of the Melliah's birth to one fole nation of the world, to one fole
tribe of that nation, to one fole family of that tribe, to one fole branch
of that family, and fo to one fole perfon of that branch ; he would (after
the Melliah's coming) take a contrary method, and call all men to fal-
vation unto him.
Now that being fuppofed, the truth of all Mofes's prophecies cannot
be queftioned. And whatever the yeivs opinion be concerning the
accomplifhmentof fome of them, it is fufficient for us, that they have
carefully and faithfully preferved the books wherein thofe prophecies
which we fee fo exactly fulfilled, are contained.
For we cannot reafonably lufpecf. Mofes, or any other yew, of forging
Vol. I. U the
306 Reflexions upon the Ch. IX.
the prophecies which foretold the calling of the Gentiles : not Mofes,
feeing all his laws do tend (as I fhall fhew hereafter more at large) to
eftablifh that reftriction I was juftnow fpeaking of, which was to con-
tinue to the Meffiah's coming : not thejews, feeing that none of them can
itill endure to hear of the removal of that reftridtion, by the calling of
the Gentiles ; and that they are all pofTeffed with fuch a fpirit of envy
and jealoufy againft all other nations, that they perfectly hate and abo-
minate them. But befides, we cannot defire a better, nor a more au-
thentic accomplifhment of thofe oracles, which are fo oppofite to the
Jewijh principles and prejudices, than that which we ourlelves are wit-
neffes of.
The fame reflexion belongs to the other prophecies of Mofcs concern-
ing the total diffipation of the Jeivijh ftate ; as alfo to the dreadful ac-
complifhment of them in our days. The moft refolved obftinacy can
fuggelt. but one objection in this matter, which is, that either the Chrif-
tians or the Jews have fal fined Mofes's writings, and inferted thofe pro-
phecies which we now find there, concerning the vocation of the Gen-
tiles, and the difperfion of the Jews, after thofe things were come to
pals.
But firft, the books of Afofes, which both Chriftians and Jews have,
are written in Hebrew, and penned in fuch a ftyle as evidences their
antiquity, and as would be inimitable now.
Secondly, that thefe books have been all tranflated into Greek, al-
moft 300 years before Jefus Chrift, and about 350 years before the de-
struction of Jervfalem. Neither the Jeivs, nor )et the Chrillians, were
any longer iole mailers of them, when the heathens had them alfo in
their hands.
Befides, thofe who were converted to Chriftianity from Judaifm and
Heathenifm, did not only find thefe prophecies of Mofes in the hands of
'Jews and Heathens, long before the converfion of the Gentiles, and the
deft-ruction of Jcrujalem, but did alfo make ufeof them to evince againft
the Jeivs, that the Mcffiah was already come.
1 hus, I think, I have fufficiently demonftrated the truth and divinity
of all Mofes' s prophecies which we find in Exodus and the following
books.
CHAP. IX.
That it appears, by the Nature of his Relations , that Moses had the Mejfias
in View whin he ivrcte the Book of Genesis.
I HAVE fnewed, in my former reflexions upon Gene/is, that thofe who
lived before Mofcs's time, had a diuincf. knowledge that God would
certainly raife up a deliverer arnongit them, although they were not
certain of the manner of his appearance j and 1 have befides, I think,
fufficiently
Ch. IX. four hjl Booh of Mofes. «0?
fufficiently proved, that the various ideas which the ancients enter-
tained of him upon the firft promife made by God of his coming, were
the occafion of feveral criminal a&ions committed by the Patriarchs
and by thofe of other nations who had the fame pretenfions with
them.
I am now to prove that Mofes himfelf had the fame knowledge, and
l*yed in the fame expedation with the ancients that preceded him. It is
of more importance to be (hewn, and that henceforth nobody may won
der, if I pretend that the greateft part of the laws he gave to th
both in reference to civil and reli
Jews,
uoni in rererence to civil and religious matters, and the greateft part of
his prophecies, as alfo thofe others mentioned by Prophets that lived
after him in that Jewijh commonwealth, do all fuppofe a diftinft rela-
tion to the promifed Meffiah.
And to make this evident, I beg leave to offer to the reader's confi-
derat.on fome general reflexions upon Mofes7 s hiftory in Genefis.
..? Irft' lt "nnot be denied that Mofes was one of the greateft and wifeft
h.ftonans that ever was : there cannot be a greater defign, nor a more
difficult tafk than his was, to write the hiftory of 24CO years : he eives
an account of the creation of the world in general j and in particular,
r u* 5 ma"' of hls fin> of the P^mife God made him after the fall,
of the flood, of the original of all the nations that were in his time
His way and manner of writing is alfo very extraordinary : the majefty
of his fl.le is tempered with an admirable plainnefs; he defcribes all
forts of paffions to the life; he is admirable in his characters of the
men he fpeaks of, and of God himfelf. To be convinced of this, let
any man read his defenption of 'Abraham^ facrifice, and of the feveral
paffions Jofeph and his brethren were moved and affecled with, when he
made himfelf known to them. Befides all that, we may oblerve two
very furpriling things in the book olGcnefis.
The firft is, that Mofes recites there fuch things as feem to be un-
worthy to be taken notice of, by fo grave and wife a hiftorian as he was :
he gives, ioi ' mftance, an exa* and particular account of all the circum-
stances rfJrjUi purchafe of thecave of Machpelah, for a burvine-
place for hismfe ; he fets down all the particulars of the inceft of Judah
with Aomt; and he relates the manner how Leah with her fons man-
drakes obtained jeave of Rachel to enjoy her hufband for one night, with
a furprifing exactnels. to '
wZl\°ih*[ iSK lHa r M°fSS "f?^8 I Wll°!e feries of Wib^ crimes,
which feem to be as fo many blemifhes and odious reflexions upon the
memory of thofe whole hiftory he writes. V
Now it is not reasonable to fuppofe that Mofes, being fo prudent as
nfck'Tf ^ V*> co»ldJ™ bee" <° '"judicious af to choofe and
pick out fuch paffages and actions as are in themfelves either trivial and
^nr°Pinmh0ment' °rJh?rr.ible a"d odious, to fill Up with them a book
wherein he gives a defenption of the creation of the world, where he
fets down the oracles of God at every turn
It is Plural therefore to judge, that he had fome particular profpeft
1 ' e>'^ u-h C°Uld, bG n° °ther than that of ^e fnmA which
U 2 Ifhall
2Q$ Reflexions upon the Ch. IX»
I fhall not repeat here what I have already obferved upon the crimes
which he relates in Gevefis ; 1 r.c'd only, that he had the fame defign and
profpecl: in his narration of fuch fi^all and inconfiderable tranfactions.
Thus, by his account of the purchafeof the cave of Macbpelah, his
intention was to fhew how God intended, by this fepulchre, to affix
jfkrabam, and his pofterity after him, to the land of Canaan: his fcope
and pioipccl was the fame when he records the burial of Rachel at
Mpfhratbab.
As for the crime* Mofes relates, I have before proved, that hedefigned
thereby to fhew how ail the faithful before his time had their minds
altogether taken up with the thoughts and hopes of the accomplishment
of the promife: and herein, wi mav fay, the wifdom of Mofes is very
conip cuous and difcemable in the choice he made of thofe actions, to
perpetuate the memo: y of the excefiive defire which the ancients had to
accomplish the promife.
And let no man obieel: here, that it is very Arrange to fee, that durng
$o man ■: ages the promife of the Mefiiah occafioned no other than wicked
actions ; for as it appears, by all circumftancts, that thofe crimes related
by Mf s were committed in different times, and long after one another,
fo it is plain that he huth recorded thofe actions on purpofe to fhew
■what impreflion the true knowledge of the promise of the Mefiiah made
upon the mind of thofe that had it in its perfection and integrity.
\{ Mnfes had iniirt-d in this book of Gene/is any long difcourfe as
made by Adam about that matter upon a fabbath-day, or if he had given
us a relation of what fuch an one as Setb, or Eyiuh, or Sem^ ufed to teach
concerning that promife in their religious aiTemblies; it is certain,
that, befides the inconvenience of a tedious repetition which he muft
have made of the fame things in every particular account he gives of the
feveral generations that preceded him, he could never have perfuaded
his readers fo well as he may do npw.
Firit, men would have been apt to fufpecl: that thofe fpeeches upon
the promife of the Mefiiah were of his own making, and like thofe let
harangues we find in Xinopbon or Livy.
Secondly, the crimes that were committed, to get thereby fome ad-
vantage : as, for inftance, the murder of a king committed by his heir,
and fucceffor to the crown, fhews in the murderer a much greater
ambition, and affectation of the throne, and. fuppofes in him a diftindt
and clear knowledge of his rights and pretenfions to the empire.
CHAP, X.
Ch. X* four lafi Booh of Mofes. 309
CHAP. X.
That the fame Perfuafion appears throughout the whole Conduct of Moses,
until his Death.
BUT it is not only by thofe and the like reflexions which may be
made upon the choice Mofes hath made of the things which he re-
cites, that we may gather that he had always the promife of the Mefiiah
in view ; for he being defcended from Abraham, there is no doubt but
that, from his youth up, he was brought up in the religion, and con-
sequently in the hopes, of that Patriarch.
But moreover we have reafon to think, that the idea of this promife
of the MefTiah was much mere lively and ftrong in that family, ever
fince Jacob on his death-bed had foretold and promifed to Judah, that
it was out of his tribe he was to be born. As for Jofph, to whom that
promife might have been applied by the children of Ifrael, becaufe of
his power and glory in Egypt ; the Egyptian perfecution that followed
fome time after his deceafe, refolved all Scruples and mifrakes that might
othcrwife have been entertained in that matter, and fo convinced all
thofe poor fufferers, that their Meffiah was as yet to come.
To all thefe ftrong preemptions, whereby we may guefs what the
thoughts of Mofes might be concerning the promife of the Meffiah, we
may add the consideration both of his words and aitions, which do very
plainly eftablifn the fame truth.
St. Paul, in his epiftle to the Hebrews Jz), mentions two particular
actions of Mofes, which, as they challeng'e our admiration, fo they de-
ferve our ferious confideration, becaufe they dearly, I think, evidence
that Mofes was fully perfuaded of the future accomplifhment of that
promife.
The firft is, that he refufed to be called the fon of Pharaoh' % daughter,
choofing rather to fuffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy
the pleasures of fin forafcafon, efteeming the reproach of Chrift oreater
riches than the treafures in Egypt, for he had refpeel unto the Tecom-
penfe of the reward. From whence could a refoluticn fo oppoftte to the
ordinary prudence and natural inclinations of other men proceed in him,
if it was not, as St. Paul obferves it, from a very extraordinary fource,
viz. from that ftrong perfuafion which he had, that how calamitous
ioever the then prefent condition of the people of God might be, yet
God had chofen it therein to accomplifh that great promife which was
the joy of all their anceftors from Adam down to them, the remembrance
whereof he renewed, by illuftrating thofe oracles which Jacob pro-
nounced up'.»n his death-bed ?
The other is, that Mofes always adhered to that miferable people, and
ftood by them in all their calamities and prefTures. It is true, he left
them, and retired once into Midian, fo Cave his life, and avoid the king's
indignation ; but he returned to them into £$v{t, as foon he had received
U 3 his
(») Heb. x5.
*I0 Reflexions upon the Ch. XL
his commiflion from God, to deliver them out of their mifery and bon-
dage : now he (hewed again, by fo doing, that he had a certain know-
ledge of that great promife of God made to that people, and a full
aflurance and perfuaiion of its future accomplifhment.
Mojes informs us indeed, how he refufed at firft the commiffion God
gave him to deliver his people from the Egyptian flavery, and how he
excufed himfelf upon his own incapacity, and being unfit for fo a great
an undertaking : but yet he makes at the fame time fo vifible an allufion.
to the prophecy concerning the Sbilob (i. e. fent), O my Lord (faid he,
to God ) fend, J pray thee, by the band of him whom thou wilt fend, that he
could hardly cxprefs and declare his mind about it more plainly.
But we fhall be the better convinced of his allufion to the fending of
the Shilob, if wc reflect upon Mofes's being of the tribe of Levi, of
which God had pronounced nothing concerning the future accompiifh-
ment of the promife ; he could not be ignorant of his being himfelf ex-
cluded of that privilege ; and that, after all, what glory foever the mira-
culous prefervation and illuftiious beginnings of his life might feem to
pretend and promife to him, yet he could not expe£t to rife much higher
than Jofeph had done before him, although he would reafiume the for-
mer poll to which his adoption by Pharaoh's daughter had once raifed
him.
We fee that Mofes continued always of the fame mind, and enter-
tained ftill the fame notion and hopes of the promife of the Meffiah,
even after God had revealed to him, that the time of his appearing into
the world was not yet come: this, I fay, we fee by his fpeech to the
people of Jfrael, related in the cigthteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, The
Lord thy God (faith he to them) will raife up unto thee a Prophet from
the viidfi of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him you fhall hearken :
he does not fay a pricft, or a king, though the Meffiah was to be both ;
tut he faith, a Prophet to teach them not to miftake any of their priefts
or kings for the Meffiah, but toexpedl and regard lefs, in his perfon, the
external honour of Aaron 's family, and the worldly grandeur of kings,
than the privilege of Divine infpi ration, which was absolutely neceflluy
to him as the founder of the true religion.
CHAP. XI.
That Balaam^ Prophecy, which Moses relates, is a further Argument
of the fame Perfuafion in him.
l\ S we ought to fhew that Mofes had a very clear and diftincl: know-
_t\_ ledge of this promife, fo, 1 think, it will not be amifs to make
here a particular reflexion upon what he relates Numb, xxiii.
The Moahites being defccmled from Lot's eldeit daughter, it is very
natural to conceive, that Balac their king was fo defirous to have the
3 Jfraeliits
f
Ch. XT. four lajl Books of Mofes. 311
Ifraelites curfcd from God, and by one of his prophets only, becaufe he
defigned thereby to fecure himfelf of the divine blefling; or, which is the
fame thing, of the privilege of the accomplifhment of the promife, to
which he thought he had a juft claim and pretenfion by his beino- one
of LoCs poftenty.
And this obfervation upon Baltic's pretenfion and action, is the more
juft and well grounded, becaufe the notion of the curfe which he in-
tended to have had pronounced againft the Ifraelites is directly oppofite
to the terms of the promife which God made to Abraham, In thy feedjhall
all the nations of the earth be bleffed \ which words, as I obferved before,
do import a direct oppofition to Lot's pretenfion.
Now all this being fuppofed,one needs only confider the terms of the
prophecy fpoken by Balaam in favour of Jacob, to fee that Mojcs hath
related it, only to fhew,
Firft, that although thofe neighbouring nations to Judea had degene-
rated, and corrupted themfelves much by their communication with
Hara's pofterity, yet they preferved a ftrong, though confufed notion of
their anceftors pretenfions, and acted according to that prejudice of
theirs in all matters and occurrences of great moment.
Secondly, that it might be an authentic determination of all the fe-
veral contefts and pretenfions which had divided the posterity of Terah
until that time.
It is like a definitive fentencej firft, in favour of Abraham, againft the
JMcabiics and Ammonites, who were defcended from Lot;- fecondly, in
favour of Ifaac, againft the pretenfion of the Ifmaelites, defcended from
Ifmacl; thirdly, in favour of Jacob, againft the pretenfion of the Edo~
mites, defcended from Efau.
For when he foreteis that there mall come a ftar out of Jacob, he
decides the three forementioned controverfies ; Jacob having been pre-
ferred to Efau, Ifaac to Ifmacl, and Abraham to Lot. Now Jacob could
not be preferred to the Moabites, but he muft be fo too to the Ammonites,
Tfmaelites, and Edomites.
This prophecy, as any one may fee, is abfolutely neceffary, becaufe
it refolves all the queftions and controverfies which did excite fomany
jealoufies amongft all thofe neighbouring nations./
This oracle of Balaam is yet the more remarkable, becaufe, that not-
withstanding it was pronounced at the entry into Canaan, the pofteffing
and inhabiting of which country was one of the chiefeft characters of the
Ifraclhes diiiinction from all other nations, yet in it Balaam makes a very
diftinct mention of the future calling of the Gentiles to the faith ; he
calls them the children ofSeth, to intimate that in the time of the Mef-
fiah, the reftriction made and obferved by God before that time, was
then to ceafe, and that there fhould be jio more diftinction betwixt the
Jczvs and Gentiles, who were all the children of Noah, and all equally
defcended from Seth by him, becaufe then all nations were to be called
to th? communion of the Mcffiah.
I know that fome, by the children of Seth, underftand the inhabitants
of a certain town in the country of Afoab} mentioned in the xvth of
Ifaiah, according to the Septuagint.
U 4 But
312 Reflexion* Upon the Ch. XT.
But the Arcbian interpreter of the Samaritans (a) brings very good
arguments to prove, that that place of Scripture is to be underltood of
the Meffiah, and (hews that he is called the head of the children of Seth,
becaufe Seth was the head and common father of all men fince the flood,
and at the fame time of all the faithful before the flood ; and that thofe
words of Gcncfls iv. 26. Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord,
relate to Seth, and not to Enos, as it is commonly believed.
Refidcs, this prophecy by thefe words, I Jlyail fee him, but not nciv ; I
Jhall behold him , but not nigh f, determines that the birth of the AleJJiab
Was not near, but was referved for a further time.
L ftly, it is a very Angular thing, that this oracle fhould be repre-
fented to us as coming out of the mouth of a Prophet who was chofen
by God out of the family of Abraham; becaufe the author of it decides
thefe important queftions and differences, without any vifible partiality,
and without being biaffed by the pretenfions of his birth.
Now there are three things in it which clearly prove that it could not
be unknown to Mofes.
The fir ft is, that immediately after this prophecy, which was zs pub-
lic and well known amongft the Moabites as any prophecy could be;
after the tedious preparation, and the many difficulties which Balaam
made to come to Balac ; after the many ceremonies and myfteries which
he ufed upon that occafion ; and notwithftanding the great and panic
terror of the Moabites, at the approach of the Ifraelkes ; nay, and not-
withftanding the exprefs threats and ominous prophecies of Balaam
againft that people; notwithftanding all this, I fay, we fee the daughters
of Moab imitating the carnal prudence of Lot's daughters, and courting
the alliance of the Ifraclites, as if they had had a mind to make them-
felves amends in that way for the lofs and wrong they had fuffered by
the fentence which Balaam pronounced in favour of Ifrael.
We fee, I fay, that Mofes, immediately after he had related the pro-
phecies of Balaam, tells us, that the daughters of Moab -invited the
people of Ifrael to the facrifices of their gods, and that the people of
Ifrael accepted of the invitation, and accordingly feafted, and began
then to defile themfelves with the daughters of Moab,
Nov/, that fuch a thing fhould happen prefently after Balaamhzd ut-
tered his prophecy, fhews evidently that there was fome relation be-
twixt thofe two transactions. And this may be further made out, from
the manner and nature of the punifhment which God inflicted upon the
Jfracliics for their criminal commerce with the Moahkes\ although the
pretence of it might be grounded upon the defign which the daughters
of Moab had formed, according to the principles of their education, to
fhare in the accomplifhment of the promife, by their conceiving and
gettting children by thofe who^ Balaam's prophecy had invefted with
the right and privilege ot accompliflling that promile.
The fecond is, that accordingly, about two hundred years afterJ/c/?^,
we fee that Ruth the Moabitfs left her own country, to fettle and live at
Bethlehem, and afFe&ed befides to marry there again one of the tribe of
Judah ; no doubt becaufe file had got in her own county a certain
knowledge
{a) Abu/aid, MS. in the French King's library, note 4. upon Gen. iv. 24,*
Ch. XII. four hfl Books of Mofes. $1$.
knowledge of that famous oracle, which afterwards made her eafily yield
to the counfels, and receive infrru&ions both of her mother-in-law and
of her own hufband, who was of the tribe of Jhdbh, and, no doubt, had
the book of A4ofcs, wherein were inferted both the prophecy of 'Jacob
in favour of Jitdah, and that of Balaam in favour of the Ifraelites againft
the Moabites.
The third is, that the Jews have now for feveral ages conftantly
maintained, that Simci's curies againft David (b), which afterwards he
called malediclionem peffimam, TV ~i?3i contained an upbraiding reflexion
as well upon the meannefs of his birth, as being defcended from a AToab-
itefs, as upon his adultery, See. This is related by St. Jerome, or fome
other ancient author, who writ that difcourfe, de traditionibiis Hebraorum,
upon the fecond chapter of the third book of Kings. This Jewifh inter-
pretation would be very probable, if that was but true what Rabbi Salo-
mon faith upon the fecond chapter of the fir ft book of Kings, v. 19. that
when we read there that Solomon caufed a feat to be fet for the king's
mother, we ought to underftand it of Ruth the Aloabitefs, and not of
BathJheba. We know the Jews sfcribe a much longer life to Zarah, the
daughter of -4/^ocr, one of Jacob's, fons ; for they are frill of the fame
opinion as they were in St. Hieronws time, that fhe was yet alive in
David1?, time.
Nobody can condemn this reflexion upon P.uth, if he will but con-
sider, that her faith having been fo rewarded, that the Mejfiah came out
of her pofterity, fhe is particularly made mention of in his genealogy 5
and that on the other hand her hiftory hath been preferved amongft the
other books of the Old Teftament, as a kind of prefcription, not only
againft the Moabites pretenfions, long before condemned by Balaam's
prophecy, but alfo againft thofe of the Ifmaelites and Edomites, who had
no better claim to the promife than the Afoabites, having no other than
that of a general call, and of their birthright before Jacob's pofterity.
CHAP. XII.
jffjat one may fee alfo, in Moses'j Law, plain Foot/1 eps of God'' s Dc/ign, in,
diftingutjhing- the fe from whom he would have the Me/Jiah to beborn.
IT was altogether neceffary Tor the execution of my dcfign, to
eftablifh well the authority of A/fofes7s books, upon which I intend
to make fome reflexions : it was likewife neceffary to fhew, a* I think
I have done Sufficiently, that Afofes %as perfectly "acquainted with
God's promife concerning the Mefliah. Therefore, I believe, I may
now come to fhew, that both Mofes, and thofe that came after him, had
all an eye upon the Mefliah in their chieftft regulations.
But to give a gr< ater iniight and underftand ing into the things that
I am to fay, I think it may not be amifs to remind the reader, and to
Jay before him once more, the feveral characters of God's conduit in
that
(£) I, Kings ii. %,
3*4 Refexlens upon the Ch. XII.
that matter, that he may be the better able to judge of the whole feries
of his defign.
I have heretofore fhewed, that Mofes's intention was to eflablifh two
things in the book of Genejts.
The one, that all men have derived their original from Adam, whom
God created.
The other, that man having finned, God promifed to reinftate him
by one of his own pofterity.
The firft of thefe was then folidly proved by a plain matter of fact,
when I fhewed that fuch a tradition as Mofes relates about the creation
of the world, cannot reafonably be doubted of.
As for what concerns the other, viz. the promife of the Median,
which was the chiefeft objec.1 of man's hope and comfort, I have alfo
ftie wed, I think, that the notion and expectation of it was very ftrono-
and lively, and the original caufe of all the extraordinary actions re-
corded by Mofes.
But as this promife was not to be fulfilled for many ages, Co God
made it only in very general terms, and had frill referved to himfelf the
revelation for after ages, as he thought fit, both as to the manner and
time of its accomplishment. It is therefore abfolutely necefiary that we
fhould confider alfo how God preferved all along the diftinct knowledge
of it amongft men.
Now, in reading my reflexions upon Gcnejis, one muff, needs have ob-
ferved that God, even in thefe early times of the world, did reftrain the
privilege of accomplifhing that promife by little and little to fome par-
ticular men ; till at lad he openly declared, that he had fettled it in the
tribe of Judith, as we read in Gen. xlix.
Thus we fee, that God in the very beginning of the world reftrained
that prerogative to Seth's family, and excluded Caul's irom it ; then after-
wards, of ali Sab's family, he reftrained it to Noah alone and his family ;
then, of Noah's family, to Shcm alone; then, afterwards, of z\\ Shem's
pofterity, to Abraham alone j then, of Abrahams fons, to Ifaac alone j
and of Ifaac's, to Jacob alone, whole fon Judah was alone inverted with
that privilege, and all his brethren excluded.
It is moreover obfervable, that in thofe feven forementioned re-
ftriclions which God made, he feems to have affected to prefer the
youngeft to the eldeft ; as it is evident in his choice, if not of Noah, and
Shcm, who was elder than the other fons, yet certainly in that of Seth,
wtio was younger than Cain ; of Abraham, who was the youngeft of
Terah's fons ; of Ifaac, who was vounger than Ifmacl ; of Jacob, who was
younger than Efau; and of Judah, who was one of the youngeft of Leah's
fons.
So likewife, if the reader wmild judge of God's defign by the event
alone, he might juftly conclirae that God, by this afFedted choice, in-
tended to raile continual jealoufies betwixt the cldcft (who pretended
that the privilege of accomplifhing the promife did belong to them be-
caufe of their birthright) again ft their youngeft brothers, whom they
faw preferred by God's immediate choice.
One may alto further add, that God feems to have ftrengthened thefe
jealoufies, by introducing fometimes a fort of conformity amongft the
pretenders
Ch. XII. four lajl Books of Mo feu 315
pretenders to the execution of this promife : thus, for inftance, as Abra-
ham had two children, fo Lot had two; as Jacob had twelve ions, i'o
Efau had alfotwelve : and Sometimes one may find, that thole particular
perfons who are preferred, are charged with very fevere accufations.
Now, after all thefe general reflexions, it is natural for us toconfidcr,
what care God hath upon all occasions particularly taken to distinguish
and protect thofe whom he had inverted with the right of accomplish-
ing the promife, that their State and fucceffion might never be uncer-
tain.
It was this defign, no doubt, which obliged God to make Seth the
depofitaryof his fervice and worfhip, that he might thereby fave Noah
from the flood, and fo procure to Sbem his father's bleSIing.
It was for this reafon that he called Abraham out of his own country,
and made him travel from place to place, to make him thereby famous
in the world, and to invite men by that means to inquire after his pro-
fefiion, his hopes, and his religion.
Again, it was for this that he obliged this Patriarch to the pra&ice
of circumcifion, which was a real distinction, and an indelible charac-
ter j and that he likewife confined him to a certain place, by fixing him
in Some fort to the cave of Machpelah, which he had purchafed of the
children of Hamor.
LaStly, it was for that' reafon that God would have the posterity of
Jacob diftinguifhed from all other nations of the world, and thac he
prohibited all alliance with them, as alfo all imitations of the cuitoms
and religious ceremonies prairifed amongft them.
Now all this being fuppofed, I fay, that whether we confider the end
and principal defign of Mofe$\ laws, or whether we examine his feveral
prophecies, which do particularly characterife the Mefliah, we {hall
find that God did all along continue in his firit defign of distinction, and
confequently of keeping up the jealouiies of thofe that had any preten-
tions to the privilege of accomplishing the promife; or, which is all
one, that he hath profecuted the fame defign to Jefus ChriSt's time, m
whom Chrifrians do maintain that the firit promife was accomplished,
God having then, and not til! then, both put an end to all thofe differ-
ences and diftinctions, which were only intended to make the Mefiiah
the better known, and the more certainly difecrned at his coming, and
tnen to ceafe ; juft as fcafFolds are taken away as foon as the building is
finished ; and having alfo on the other hand rectified the principles from
which flowed that fpirit of jealoufy, amongft thofe who had the Same
pretenfion.
We fee, that accordingly God excluded all other nations from the
right of accomplishing this promife.
We fee, that even in the family of Judah, who was himfelf the
youngeSt of the Sir ft fet of Leah's chilcrcen, he restrained the execution
of it to the youngeSt brothers.
We fee, that he raifed occasions of jealoufies, even amongft the tribes
of Ifrael.
In a word, we fee, that of all thofe means which can distinguish any
one people from all other nations of the world, or one tribe from twelve,
one family from all other families of the fame tribe, and one particular
per Ion
31^ ke flexions upon the Ch. XIIF.
jrfon from all the reft of his family, none were omitted, but (on the
t ntrary) ail made ufeof by God, to follow this his firft dcfign.
^hie i intend firmly to eftabliih, by examining the thing gradually
t om /l/ofts's time, (by whofc miniftry God enacted and published thofe
la ■ s b\ : he means whi reof he intended the Mefliuh might certainly be
know,,) to the comi g of our Lord Jefus Chrift, in whom we believ«
that the promife was accumplifhed.
CHAP. XIII.
Ihat the Manner, of GoeTs promulgating his Laivamongfl the Israelites*
did much conduce to the dijiinguijhing them from ad other Nations.
I DO not barely dtfign here at firft ro obferve the feveral refem-
blanccs which are obfef vable betwixt the things related by Mofes in
GeneJUy and thofe which one finds in the following books.
Neither will I merely eftabliih here that, as Jeucb's going down into
Egypi with all his children, and the prote6tion they all received there,
from Jofeph, did ferve to fulfill the prediction which God made of that
event by ftfph's dreams, fo we may fay in general, that the fending of
Mofes, his miracles, and his whole miniftry to the time of his death,
when he intruded Jojhua with the conduct of the Jews, were a literal
accompli/hment of the firft part of the promife which God had
formeiiy made to Graham, to deliver the fourth generation of his poftc-
rity out of the captivity which it was to fall into, and then to bring it
into the land of Canaan to po fiefs it.
Mofes indeed reprefents that people, according to the tenor of the
prophecy, as groaning under the hard prefuire of a cruel captivity in
Egypt, when JoJ eminent fervites were both forgotten.
Afterwards, he tell us how they were miraculoufly delivered out of
that captivity.
And then, laftly, he informs us, that after he had carried them through
many difficulties in ihe wildernefs, he brought them at lalt to the very
borders of Canaan^ and fo left them ready to conquer and poftefs it, ac-
cording to God s promifes, .nd their pretenfions grounded upon thofe
promifes which had been fooften repeated to them ever fince Abraham's
tin e.
f fr.ua, Mofes\ lucceftbr, an^in all li'-celihood thf author of the de-
scription of his death, is he that accomplifhcd the other part of God's
proi life to Ahri b <m, by introducing th< // . lites into Canaant and ac-
ts; al ■ i fling them of it: fo there is notiung can be imagined more
precifc in this whole matter.
it is .. >i all this only that renders bo'h the perfon and miniftry of
Mofes fo glorious: there are feveral >ther things in Exodus, and his other
following books, which do much better deferve our confideration.
Thofe
Ch. XIII. four laji Books of Mofes. 3ly
Thofe books contain, as I have already obfervcd, an exact hiftory of
all that God did, in order to give a certain form to the COR) nion wealth
of Ifraelt a fixed place, and a particular fervice ; that is, in order to fol-
low his great defign of having the Mefliah known without miffake,
whenever he fhould be born amongft the Jews : and this is my chiefeJJ
aim in the reflexions upon Exodus and the other books of Mo/es.
Firft, we might fay in general, that the obfervance of the Lbhath,
and theufeof circumcifion, did diftinguifh the Jews; but yet, I have
fhewed, that the fabbath was a law common to all nations in the world,
and that circumcifion on the other hand was common both to the If-
waelites and Edomites : and this will oblige us to make fome parti< ular
obfervations upon that matter ; and we muft conlider how God took
care to diftinguifh that people, by giving them his law.
It is in general evident, that the care which God took to give the
moral law to that whole people, did eminently diftinguifh. them from all
other nation?, whom he permitted to walk in their own ways, as St.
Paul expreffes it : to be fure, it (hews them that he refolved to fix them
to himfeif, and to hinder them from following both the idolatries of
other nations, and thofe inundations of vice which ruin all focieties.
And, without doubt, the furprifing pomp which accompanied the pro-
mulgation of God's law, and which was recorded by his order, before
thofe that had been the eye-witneffes of it, did much contribute to per-
fuade them that God had a particular regard and kindnefs for their na-
tion, and that he honoured them with his particular o-uidance.
We may make the fame obfervation upon God's giving them a poli-
tical law, and upon the care that he was alio pleafed to take of regu-
lating their civil government, and preventing the difficulties which'are
commonly occafioned by fuch accidents as cannot be forefeen by any
human legiflators, which caufe great revolutions and changes in all go-
vernments; all which (hew fufEciehtly, that his defign v/as to raife them
up to, and to maintain them in as great prosperity and welfare, as
pofiibly could be procured to a nation by perfect laws, and a well
conftituted government : even the many ceremonies which God gave
them, are a further demonflration of God's defign to diftinguifh them
from other nations.
It feems not to have been God's intention at firft to lay upon them
fuch numbers of ceremonies ; for it was only after the commiffion of the
fin of the golden calf, that God laid upon them that heavy and trouble-
fome yoke, on purpofe to employ all their time, and fo keep them from
falling into idolatry again. But, however, Tanchuma (c), a famous Jewijh
author, obferves, that there was nothing left in the world, but what God
took care to give the Ifraelites fome laws about : as, for inftance, if any
Jew went out to plough, he was forbidden to do it with an ox and an afs ;
it to fow, he was forbidden to fow his field with feveral kinds of feed ;
if to reap, he was forbidden to reap the whole crop ; if any one went
about to bake bread, he Was commanded to take out of his dough, to
much as to make a cake thereof to confecrate it ; if any one did l\crihcc
any animal, he was charged to give away to the prieft, the right
{hou'der of" it, with both tne cheeks and inwards ; when any one found
out
(0 Jalkut.'mPent, fol. 228. col. 3.
318 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIII.
out a neft of birds, he was obliged to let the old one fly away; if any
one went a hunting, he was to fhed the blood of his game, and then to
cover it with duff. ; when any one had planted any fruit-trees, he was to
count the firft thereof as uncircumcifed for the three firft years ; when
any one found a fepulchre, even there certain cautions were prefcribed ;
if anyone fhaved himfelf, he was forbidden to mar the corners of his
beard ; when any one built a houfe, he was to take care there fhould be
rails, and mezouzotb made, to prevent all danger ; they were obliged to
put particular threads in their garments: and there are many other
things which were apparently commanded to diftinguifh the Jeivs, by
oblieino- them to the practice of thefe, and fuch other laws as took up
all their time. But if we may fay, in general, that the whole fcope of
the ceremonial law was to employ the Jews, we may yet more juftly
fay, that it was in particular intended by God to infpire into his people
a horror againft all idolatrous practices, and an averfion againft all com-
merce with idolaters ; and this may be further difcerned, if we examine
thole laws in particular.
One fees this perfectly by the manner of God's pronouncing fome
meats unclean, and his forbidding to eat the flefh of fome anim Js; for
we may find that the greater* part of thefe animals were worfhipped
amonglt the heathens. Thus the more learned amongir the Jews prove
that the goat and the ram were of that number ; but lb, no doubt, were
all the animals which were ufually offered in facrifice to God, as par-
ticularly the bull. Now there is nothing which alienates two nations
from one another more, than when one of them eats or facrifices that
which the other makes the object of his religion.
One of the moft learned authors that ever the Jews had, hath dili-
gently obferved, that God gave many ceremonial laws directly contrary
to thofe rites which the Zwbij ufed in their fuperltitions ; and a learned
Englijh Doctor (d) hath lately proved it very largely, as to the cere-
monies which God commanded to be ufed in the facrifice of the pafchal
Iamb, and in the manner of their building of the altar, and cf their
going up to it ; in the prohibition of Teething a kid in his mother's
rmlk, and of offering honey in their facrifices ; in the prohibition of their
forcing their children to pafs through the fire to Moloch ; in the law
which prohibited their eating blood, and rounding the corners of their
heads, and making any marks in their flefh j and in 1 do not know
how many other laws of that nature, the delign of whofe inftitution is
not fo evident now, fince the titer, of all thofe ancient idolaters are
utterly abolimed, and but imperfectly recorded in fome ancient authors.
Thus we fee, that we need only make a very little reflexion upon
God's conduct, in giving all his laws to the Ijraelites, thereby to judge,
that the main fcope of thofe l^vs was to put a bar betvvfxt the people
of Jfrael and all other idolatrous nations, which fhould be a vifible
and a conftant diftindicn, till the Mefliah fhould be born, who was to
nuke all thofe marks of difcrimination to ceafe entirely.
{d) Spepcer de Leg. Mcf. lib. 2.
CHAP. XIV.
Ch. XIV. four lajl Books of Mofes. 319
C H A P. XIV.
J hat Godfeems to have defign ed to keep up a Spirit of Jealoufy in the very
Bofom of the Jewish Nation.
"f TTE have feen, in gener.nl, that God, by giving his law to the
V V Ifraelites, intended to discriminate them from all other nations
of the world, and in particular from thofe nations which had fhewed
themfelves to be jealous of that diftinction ; I mean from the Moabites,
the Ammonites, the Ifmaelites, and the Edomites, as I fhall hereafter fhew.
I have likewife obferved that God, by his condudt, and his oracles,
did alfo excite a fpiritof jealoufy amongft the feveral pretenders to the
promife. I come now to fhew that God hath followed the fame defign
in his law, and that he hath made ufe of that jealoufy as of another
means to make that people, which he had feperated from all other na-
tions, keep up always amongft themfelves a lively notion and expectation
of the Meffiah.
Perhaps the reader may think that thefe reflexions may interrupt the
feriesof the obfervations I have undertaken to make upon Mojes\ law:
but befides that I fhall refume them prefently, fo one may eafily difcern,
that thefe two remarks concerning the fpiritof diftinition, and thefpi-
rit of jealoufy, kept up in the bofom of this people, ought to be well
confidered by thofe that defire to know the genius of God's laws, and
the original caufes of all the tranfa£lions related by Mofes, and by the
other facred authors, who acted in purfuance of that defign which ap-
pears in thofe laws which Mofes gave to the people of Ifrael.
I begin with two general reflexions, which I think are very ufeful in
the explanation of God's conduit upon this occafion.
Two things, as I have already obferved, have conduced to keep up
that jealoufy whereof Mofes has given fo many inftances in the book
of Genefii.
The firft. is, the preference which God hath commonly given to the
younger brothers before the elder.
The fecond is, the choice which God hath made of fuch particular
perfons as appeared abfolutely unworthy of God's choice.
So that here one fees a continual feries in the Jewijh hiftory written
by Mofes, and by the Prophets, who made the fame obfervations upon
that model which Mofes had given them.
Firft of all, the tribe of Judah is preferred before all the other tribes
of Ifrael, and particularly before the tribe of Reuben, which afterwards
occafioned the infurreftion of fome Reubeniles in their fedition againffc
Mofes 1 wherein Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, perifhed ; juft as God's pre-
ferring Abel offended Cain, and as Jojeph's brethren confpired together
to put him to death, becaul'e of his dreams, which foretold his greatnefs
and their fall.
Secondly, one fees that Phares, JudaWs youngeft fon, is preferred
pot only before all the other children of Judah, but even before Zerah,
the
320 Reflexions upon the - Ch. XIV.
the eldeft of the twins which Judah had by Thamar ; juft as Jacob was
preferred before his brother Efauy though they were twins, and Efau born
the fir ft of the two.
One fees afterwards, that God having ehofen Jcfje of all the pofte-
ritv oJ Phares, David, the youngeft of all hi1 fons, was preferred before
h..s bn tbren, when God was pleafed to tranflate the kingdom to the
tr he- of Ju ah, and to the family of J [Je ; juft as we faw before,
in the < lection of the firll king whom the Ifraelites defired to be fee over
them, that he was ehofen by lor, by an extraordinary effect of providence,
QUI o) the nib- 01 f Benjamin, though the youngeft of all Jacobs children.
I'nus one fees that Solomon, the youngeft or David's children, was
ptcVi!r. J beforp h s Drotheis, and that the fame Solomon built the temple
oi God in the tube of Benjamin, though he himfelf was of the tribe of
j.,, h
VV : ft, II afterwards fee that the Mefliah was defcended from David,
bv A'V han. ion to one of David's younger children, and by Rcfah, Zo-
rababel ' s yo.mgeft ion, from whom the Blefled Virgin drew her ori-
ginal.
The fecond r. mark is about the care God hath taken, by his choice of
fome particular perfons to accomplifli the promife, to furnifla thofe with
pretences and objections, who might be interefted to oppoie the rcftric-
tiens which God had made in favour of their equals ; for as they ferved
to keep up a jealoufy amongft all the pretenders to the promife, fo they
a)fq ferved to prefer ve a diftincl knowledge cf it, and to make them in-
quire more diligently after it.
In fhorr, as We fee that the Ifmaelites might upbraid Sarah both with
her frequent rape6, and with her cruelty to Agar and Jfmaei; as the Eao-
Hiites might upbraid Jacob's pofterity with Rebecca's fuppl anting their
father Efau, and cheating him of his bleiiing ; fo likewife we may ob-
serve that God not only chofe Thamar to have the Meiuah defcend from
her, but alfo would have her inceft with her father-in-law recorded.
What! might all the oilier tribes of Ifrael fay, were there then no horieft
women in Ifraeln that the Meffiah's anceitors muft defcend from thofe
that were bom oi lous commerce ? What probability is there
that God fhould choofe the tribe of Judah'? Had not ail the oth'.T
children of Judah a fairer pretenfton to this privilege, than Phares could
have? And might rot their pofterity revive againft the pofterity of
s that fevcre luw againft baftard children which we read of
Deut. xxi;i.
God chofe in the like manner Ruth the Moabitefs, and had her hiftory
written, and his choice recorded, as if he had intended to prepare an ex-
cufe for thole cf the Ifraelites who afterwards would refufe to fubmit to
David. What probability is there, might they fay, that God would have
the Meffiah to be born of a Moabitefs, feeing it was by his order that
Mofes caufed all thofe Ifraelites to be put to death, who after the pro-
nunciation of Balaams prophecy held any commerce with'the daugh-
ters of Moab ? Was there any likelihood that fuch a thing could be
ly feeing there was a law which God would have to be
in fertcd in Deuteronomy, which excludeth the Aloabites from the poflibili ty
of ever being admitted into the people of God. But at lealt, was not
this
Ch. XIV. four lajl Books of Mifes* 3JII
this choice of Ruth the Moabltefs, a fair caufe of jealoufy to all the
other families of Judah?
God caufed the adultery of Bathjheba, the mother of Solomon, to be
carefully recorded, as it were on purpofe to excufe the rebellion of
thofe who afterwards fided with Jeroboam, againft Rehoboam and his
authority.
Is it probable (might thefe rebels fay) that God would have chofen
that bloody cruel mm David, that adulterer, that he and Bathjheba
fhould beget the Meffiah together ?
Had JtJJ'e no other children befides David? And if David muft needs
have been the man, why fhould Solomon^ born of Bathjheba, be preferred
before all his brothers?
There are three things confiderable in this matter.
The firlr, is, thac God having given to Jojhua the condudl of the
Ifraelites, after he had formerly raifed Jofeph fo much above his brethren
by his advancement in Egypt, and given to his tribe two portions of the
land of Canaan, he permitted that Jeroboam fhould rife up againft Re-
hoboam, Solomon 's fon ; and not only fo, but fhouid likevvife, according
to the prophecy related Gen. xxviii. 17. build a temple at Bethel, as bein^
jealous againft Solomon, who built one upon mount Moriah, according
to the prophecy we find in Geneft: xxii. 14.
The fecond is, that this feparation gave a fair pretence to raife the
reputation of the prophecies which Jacob uttered upon his death-bed in
favour of Jofeph; which prophecies ran in terms fo very high, that they
not only gave colour to Jeroboam's pretenfions to the kingdom, but did
alfo lead the ten tribes into an expectation that the Mefllah fhould be
born, not in the tribe of Judah, as Jacob had exprefsly foretold, Genefis
xlix. but in the tribe of Ephraim, according to the conftant cuftom of
God's preferring the younger fons of a family before the elder, in the
matter of this promife.
The third is, that even the greateft part of the two loyal tribes re-
ceived at laft the interpretation which the other ten made of that pro-
phecy. At leaft, it appears, that many of the Jews have endeavoured
to prove that the Mefliah fhould come from the tribe of Ephrahn, by
interpreting feveral prophecies that way, which, according to their ac-
count and their prejudices, were exprefted in fuch terms as could not be
under (rood of him that was to be born in the tribe of Judah, and out of
the royal family of David.
Vo*" J- X CHAP. XV
Rrflexions upon the Ch XV.
CHAP. XV.
"That Circumcijisn was a Afeans of dijlinguijhing the Israelites from
other Nations.
BUT I muff, now refume my obfervations upon Mofes's laws. Cir-
cumcifion was, without queftion,one of the firft and moft fenfible
means whereby God did diftinguifh Jacob's pofterity from all other
people. I will therefore begin with it.
Firft, the very fignification of the word circumcifion, implies a real
and corporeal diftinc/tion : even Tacitus underftood it fo, when he faith,
Ciraoncidere genitalia injiitucre Judai tit diver fitate nofcantur (c). But
befides, by it God's covenant was, as it were, printed and engraved
jn the very flefh of all Abraham's pofterity.
God has explained it thus himfelf in feveral places j and one may-
affirm, that this was very agreeable to God's defign, which was, as we
have intimated before, to hinder that people, from which the Mefliah
was to be born, from mingling with the other nations of the world,,
which would have made the pedigree of the Mefliah fufpe&ed, or at leaft
much more difficult to be traced.
1 will not relate here, the feveral notions of divines about the ufe of*
that ceremony, but only content myfclf to make two very natural
reflexions upon it.
The firft of which is, that it was particularly in refpe£f of the Mefliah,
that God would have that mark made upon that part of man's body
which is infervient to generation. As the Mefliah was to come into the
world by generation, according to the words of the firft prophecy con-
cerning him, and alfo according to the further revelations of God to
Abraham about that promife, fo God could do nothing more agreeable
to the idea the Ifraelites had of the Mefliah, and of his birth, than to
diftinguifh them, by a relation to that blelTed feed which he promifed
them: as God defigned, without all queftion, by that means to oblige
the Jews to remember the firft promife made to mankind ; fo, no doubt,
he intended by it to fix their minds upon the coniideration of that favour
he had fhewed to them as well as to Abraham, to diftinguifh them from
all the people of the earth, that the deliverer of the world might be born
in their commonwealth, and from one of their pofterity.
The fee on d reflexion isT that it was the fame profpect to the Mefliah,
which made God condemn thofe to death, who fhould either remain
uncircumcifcd themfelves, or leave their children fo.
Is it not a very furprifing thing, that fo much rigour and feverity
Should be ufed in exacting the cbfervation of a ceremony which was
merely indifferent in its nature, and had no moral goodnefs in itfelf ?
But hereby it appears the more evidently, that God defigntd that the
ufe of circumcifion, by which he diftinguiGied Abrahams pofterity from
all
C*) Hift. 1. i.
Ch. XV. pur lajl Books of Mo feu 323
all other nations of the world, fhould be a kind of immovable bar, to
hinder they<?it'5 from mingling with all ftrangers.
Indeed there are three things which may be objected againft thefe
reflexions.
The firft is, that it does not appear that this ceremony was counted
fuch a proper fign of difiinclion, feeing the ufe of it hath been fome-
times intermitted ; as, for inftance, when the whole nation of the Jew:
left it off for forty years in the wildernefs.
The fecond is, that if the chiefeft end of circumcifion was to diftin-
guiih that people, with delign to make the Mefliah known, there was
no need that that yoke fhould be laid upon all the Jews, but Only upon
the family from which he was to defcend, or at the moft upon the tribe
wherein that family was comprifed.
The third is, that circumcifion was common both to Efau's and fa-
cob's pofterity, and even ufed amongft the Egyptians, and the inhabi-
tants of Colchis, as we may learn from Herodotus, and fome other heathen
authors.
But after all, it is an eafy thing to fatisfy man's mind in all thefe
appearing difficulties. I confefs that one is furprifed to fee that God
fhould not oblige the Jews to be circumcifed in the wildernefs ; for
which feveral reafons are given.
Firft, that God, being difpleafed with that generation, would not
allow that they mould be honoured with this token of his covenant:
others fay, that their journeying in the wildernefs gave them a difpen-
fation from the obfervance of that ceremony. But we may give a better,
I think, and more natural account of that matter, if we do but follow
the idea which occafioned my fecond reflexion.
The going forth of fome Egyptians with the Ifraelites out of Egypt,
was a type of the calling of the Gentiles, as I will (hew fomewhere elfe :
it was then neceflary, that as all ceremonies, and circumcifion in parti-
cular, were then to be abolifhed, to take away all diftinction from
among Seitts pofterity, fo the ufe of circumcifion fliould at that time be
fufpended.
However, God would not have the fufpenfion of that ceremony to
continue till they were entered into the land of Canaan.
Firft, to prevent the intruding of fome Canaanites into the body of
the Hebrews.
Secondly, to the end that thefe Ifraelites who were to enter into Ca^
naan, being as well uncircumcifed as the Egyptians children, and being
all made afterwards equal by circumcifion, ihould have no occafion to
upbraid them with their different original.
The fecond objection may as eafily be anfwered : one might think at
firft, that indeed the Mefliah had been more eafily known at his coming,
if the ufe of circumcifion had been enjoined only to the family, or at
moft to the tribe, from which he was to defcend : but bcfides that it
had expofed that family, or that tribe, to great perfections, it had.
certainly much dimimmed that fpirit of jealoufy which was kept up
by the conformity of the feveral pretenders, which on the other hand
was of mighty ufe to preferve a diftinft idea of the Mefliah, and a defire
of his coming.
X 2 As
324 Reflexions upon the Ch, XV,
As for the firft objection, there is no difficulty in it : it is true, fome
Jetvifh interpreters imagine, that Jnj'eph took occafion to prefcribc the
life of circumcifion to the Egyptians, after Pharaoh had commanded
his people to do whatfoever Jrfeph fhould bid them to do : but that con-
jecture is groundlefs ; for it appears that the Egyptians who went out of
Egypt with Mofes, were not circumcifed. It is true, that nation did,
fome ages after Mojes, take up the ceremony of circumcifion ; and it is
very likely that it was fome Egyptian colony which introduced the ufe
of it into Colchis : but the obfervance of that fole ceremony amongft
thofe nations could caufe no confuiion, becaufe none of them pretended
to derive their original from Abraham, but had, as hiftorians obferve,
quite different reafons from thofe which the Jews had for their practice
of circumcifion.
As for the Ifmaelites and Edomites, the greateft part of the Jews are of
opinion, that God did discriminate their circumcifion from the circum-
cifion which was pra£tifed by thofe nations, by his inftitution of what
they call the perigna after the circumcifion; which they endeavour to
prove by apaflage in Jofhu'a, wherein it is faid, that God ordered Jofnua
to circumcife again the children of Ifrael the fecond time. But others
of them laugh at that criticifm, becaufe it appears that thofe words do
relate to the fecond folemn circumcifion which that people did obferve
after their deliverance out of Egypt : therefore, without running to this
anfwer, one needs only follow the idea we have already made ufe of,
which is drawn from God's defign of keeping up a fpirit of jealoufy, by
fome conformity betwixt the circumcifion pra&ifed by the Jews, and the
ceremonies ufed amongft thofe rival nations.
Why then were fome of the neighbouring nations of Canaan defcended
from Abraham, circumcifed ? As, for example, the Ifmaelites in Arabia,
who were circumcifed at thirteen years of age; the pofterity of Abra-
ham by Keturah, viz. the Midianites, who were in the country of
AJoab, and the Edomites, defcended from Efau, who did all pra£tifc cir-
cumcifion.
Certainly, it is evident, that as God fet the Ifraelites in the midft of
all thofe nations, who by virtue of their anceftors birthright, or fome
other pretenfions, put in their claim with the Jews to the execution of
the promife, on purpofe to excite the attention of this people who were
furrounded with thefe rivals, fo he did for the fame reafon permit that
the Ifmaelites, the Midianites, and Edomites, (hould pra&ife the ceremony
of circumcifion, almoft in the fame manner that the Ifraelites did.
But that we may the better apprehend the force of this reflexion, we
need only ccafider the jealoufy which is caufed amongft the feveral fects
of Chriftians, by the conformity of facraments ; which is fo far from
uniting them with one another, as it might juitly be expected, that on
the contrary, one may fay, that this conformity in fome things alienates
them from one another, and breeds reciprocal jealoufies amongft their
ftveral parties, cfpecialiy when thev come to reflect upon the other
controverted articles that caufe the ll-paration.
Moreover, it is reafonable to coniider that God had provided a fuffi-
; them
many
CH. XVI. four laji Books of Mofes. 325
many other laws, which had no other vifible ufe than that of difcrimi*
nation; as, for inftance, the three great feafts which the Jews were
obliged to keep.
The feaft of the paflover was the memorial of the accomplifhinent of
God's promife to Abraham to deliver his pofterity out of the country
wherein they were t<> be in bondage after 430 years ; and confequently
could not be obferved by the Jjmaelitest nor by the Edomites, who had
never been captives in, nor delivered out of Egypt , in the fourth gene-
ration.
The Penteco/i was a public monument of the promulgation of the
law, and all its parts, amongft the children of Ifrael, and confequently
peculiar to that nation.
Thus the feaft of tabernacles preferved the memory of that folemn
action of the Ifraelites continuance for forty years in the defert.
It were needlefs, after fuch remarkable diftinitions, to obferve here,
(which yet was certainly defigned for that end) that God took care to
diitinguifh that people by fome injunctions, which they were to obferve,
in the fafhion of their clothes, of their beard, of their phi latteries, of
their mezouzoth, of their thaleth, of their zizith, and many the like
things, the obfervance of all which ferved to hinder any confufion of
the people of Ifrael with their neighbours.
That the Laiv
th
CHAP. XVI.
<j/"Moses engaged the Jews to the Study of their Genealogies,
'at they might certainly know that of the Adejfiah.
BUT if God took care to diftinguifh his people from all other na-
tions by fuch an indelible mark, in the practice whereof there was
no fear of any trick ; feeing no man would circumcife himfelf without
thinking upon it more than once, as the hiftory of the Sichemites afFures
us ; fo one fees, that he took as great a care to divide them into tribes,
and the tribes into families, that they might fubfift and continue in a
kind of a feparacion from one another, although they were at firft but
one fingle family, and one fingle nation.
Now to what purpofe, I pray, were all thofe diftin&ions, if they had
not been defigned to manifeft the Mefliah at his coming ?
We fee then, that they could have no other ufe ; for, as God had
decreed that the Meffiah mould be born out of the tribe of Judah, fo it
was neceflary that the feveral genealogies of that tribe mould be very
publicly known.
And therefore one fees that God fecured this, not only with all
neceflary care, but even with a caution greater than could have been
reafonably defired.
He engages all the tribes of Ifrael to preferve with a kind of affe&a-
X 3 tion,
326 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVI.
tion, their feveral genealogical tables; he neglects none of the means
that might be ufeful to diftinguifh the tribe of Judah from other tribes,
and the family from which the Meffiah was to be defcended from all the
other families of the fame tribe.
Indeed I am not ignorant that anciently one might fee fome other
nations ufing the diftinctions of tribes amongft themfelves, much after
the fame manner as the Jews did, and that they were careful to preferve
their genealogies in order to derive their original from the fame common
father 5 thus we ought to underftand what we read in hiftory of the
tribes amongft the Athenians. Thus Hippocrates runs up his own pedi-
gree to the twentieth man of his anceftors, and Herodotus mentions
feveral inftances of the fame care.
But one fees that this affectation was infinitely greater among the
Jews.
For we fee, that they did not only rank themfelves every one under
the ftandard of their own tribe, at their going forth out of Ecytt, but
that God did alfo engage every man to know his tribe exactly ; nay,
he compelled them all, in a manner, toftudy their own pedigrees,
that every one might claim, and reap the benefit of the law of Jubilee,
which had the force of an entail in refped of every family, as I am now
going to fhew.
There are three things obfervable in that matter.
The firft is, that it was by a fuperabundant precaution, that God
would engage the tribes to continue diftinguifhed from one another, and
to preferve and fludy their feveral pedigrees ; namely, he intended by
that means to prevent the objection which might otherwife have been
made, that it was impoffible for a tribe, and a family in that tribe, to
continue diftinguifhed from the reft of the nation, for fo many ages ; for
certainiy, if all the tribes in that nation, and all the families in every
tribe, did continue, by God's providence, fo long diftinguifhed from
one another, there is no doubt to be made, but he could preferve the
fingle tribe oi Judah, and the family of the Meffiah, diftinguifhed from
all other tribes and families of the people of lj'rael.
The fecond remark is, that it was for this diftinction fake, that the
books of the Old Teftament were filled with genealogical tables : to
what purpofe elfe had books of that importance, and vvich treated of
fuch great fubjecls, been filled with genealogies? Mofes's books arc
full of them : the firft book of Chronicles refumes th.ife genealogies
with all poffible exaftnefs : there is nothing more considerable in the
book of Ruth, than the genealogy of David and his family.
The third remark \>, that if the genealogy of the priefis feem to have
been better known than that of other families, by reafon of their being
the public mini Iters of religion, which fecms to give the advantage of
certainty of diftincVcion to the tribe of Levi above that of *fndah, m that
particular ; yet we find, that all the families of the whole nation took
much the fame care t.> preferve their own genealogies; 1o that if, after
the Babylonian captiyity, lome particular per funs were excluded from the
prieitly order, to which they pretended, becaufe they could not make
out their pedigree, fo I ike wife all 'vere thrown out from the other tribes,
that could not juftify their lineal defcent.
Nay,
€h. XVII. four loft Books of Mofes, 327
Nav, there is fomething further, deferves to be taken notice of, as
being very fingular, in that of Judab ; and one ought here to confider a
myftery of God's providence, and admire the wifdom of his conduct, in
purfuing the defign which Mofes firit fets down, and upon which one
fees that the whole Jewijh ftate was formed ; for when God reiolved
that the Mefliah fhould defcend from the tribe o( Jitdab, and the houfe
of David, he made it more particularly known and diftinguiihed than
any other family in the whole nation, and for that reafon he kts David
upon the throne.
Every one knows, that in every kingdom the genealogy of a king,
and of the royal family, is, of all others, the moft publicly known.
Now, if the blood-royal alone is always diftinguifhed, how much
jriore muft it be fo, when that fupreme dignity is conferred upon fuch a
family, as God had particularly choien, to have the Meffiah, who is fet
forth as the defire of all nations, to be born out of it !
From hence I will boldly conclude, that the only end for which God
raifed David's family to the throne, was becaufe the Mefliah was realiy
to be born out of that family, reduced to a low and private condition,
which Ifaiah foretold, faying, That a rod foould come forth out of the flem
of JefTe, and a branch grow out of his roots (f); and in another place,
That he fhould grow up as a root out of a dry ground (g) ; which was very-
agreeable to the character of a Prophet, and to the low ftate of humi-
liation in which our Saviour was to appear in the world.
CHAP, XVII.
/I Solution of feme Difficulties in thefe Genealogies*
INDEED the difperfion of the ten tribes feems to be a very natural
objection, to thole who would difputethe reflexions which I have
already made upon thefe genealogies.
But after all, there is nothing in it -but what confirms the more the
faid reflexions.
And we may fay, that the entire difperfion of the whole tribe of
Ephraim, and of the others which adhered to it in Jeroboam's rebellion, is
a myflery of providence which challenges our admiration, as much as
the raifing up that family to the throne, out of which the Meffiah was
to be born.
To apprehend this the better, we need only call to mind the preten-
fions of the tribe of Ephraim : this Ephraim was the younger brother of
Manaffeh; but Jacob had given him the birthright, juft as Ifaac before
had given it to Jacob, though it did of right belong to the elder brother.
Jacob had particularly blefled Ephraim. and even made it a form of
blefling for after-ages, as we read in the book of Ruth, that there was
X 4 one
{/) Ifa. xl. {g) Ifa. liii.
328 Re/iexlons upon the Ch. XVII.
one made for Pbarez. Jacob had given to Jofepb two portions in" the
land of Canaan, and Ephraim had the birthright before Mannjj'eh, by
Gou's order: it was then very natural for the tribe of Ephraim, as all
tribes did apply to themfelves the feveral privileges promifed to their
refpeclive heads, to look upon themfelves as having a particular right
to God's bleffing.
And they thought this right of theirs was plainly made out, as by
Jofeph's dreams, fo efpecially by the words of that prediction which Ja-
cob gave in favour of Ephraim, the words of which ran fo very high,
that after fuch a prejudice, there might very well be a fair pretence for
the hope which the tribe of Ephraim had once to fee a Meffiah come out
of their tribe, as thofc of Judah expected one out of theirs.
If to all this we add, that Jeroboam's rebellion was authorifed by a
prophetical infpiration, and by a ipecial fign of God's approbation ; and
that on the other hand he defired to propoie to his peoplt the two calves
which he fet up in Dan and Bethel, as iymbols of the Duty, only to
purfue the ideas of Pharaoh's dreams, which Jofepb interpreted, the re-
prefentation wnereof did clearly fhew both the greatnefs of Joffph, and
the particular care of God's providence over him (/;) ; it was then na-
tural to the men of Ephraim, to feed themfelves with fuch hopes, as
the Jews teach us they did, when, even to this very day, they lpeak of a
Meffiah of the tribe of Ephraim.
What did God then do, to obviate thefe pretenfions of the tribe of
Ephraim ? He difperfed them, together with the other nine tribes that
fubmitted to the authority of its kings, and fo confounded them with all
thofe tribes which followed their fortune, that, though there fh-iuld be
ftill fome EphraimUes in the world, yet it would be impolTible for any
of them to juitify his pedigree fo clearly, as that any Meffiah really de-
fcended from that very tribe, could, by eftablifhing his genealogy, put
his being of the tribe of Ephraim beyond all copteft.
Now, according to this notion of things, it is vifible (if we may be
allowed to enter into the counfels of God) that he did particularly
preferve the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, with the tribe of Juaah,
which was the only tribe that was to be preferved ofneceflity.
Firft, becaufe, as St. Paul to the Hebrews obferves, there was nothing
ever faid, as to the Meffiah, of the tribe of Levi.
Secondly, becaufe God would, by that means, confound the more
effectually all the claims of the tribe of Ephraim.
For, in fhort, if the tribe of Ephraim was inveued by God with the
kingdom over nine tribes of the people of Jfrae!, fo had the tribe of
Benjamin been railed up before to the fovereignty over all Ifrael, over
the tribe of Judah, and even that of Ephraim itfeif.
If the tribe of Ephraim was defcended from a younger brother, to
whom Jacob had given his bieifing, in prejudice of Manajfeh his elder
brother, (whicn is confiderablc, becaufe God hath almo't conftantly pre-
ferred the younger before the elder) fo the tribe of Benjamin was defcended
from him that was both the younger brother of Jojcph himfelf, and
the youngell of all Jacob's children j notwithstanding which, the tribe of
Berjam'm
'h) T(ilm> in S'ucca, c. 5. in Qew,
Ch. XVII. four laji Books of Mofes. 329
Benjamin did freely yield to the tribe of Judah, and granted that the
glory of giving birth to the Meiliah, was wholly due to them.
Be it as ic will, there are two reflexions more which muft be made
concerning thefe genealogies, which appear very natural in this place.
The firft is, that both St. Matthew and St. Luke do begin their Gof-
pel with the genealogy of the Mefliah.
The other is, that fome time after St. Paul condemns the ftudy of
genealogies, which was ftill much in ufe among the Jews, as vain.
Why therefore is there fuch a different conduct amongft the difciples of
the fame mafter ?
Certainly, whoever fhall confidcr with attention the grounds which
I have laid down before, muft acknowledge, that both St. Matthew,
and St. Luke, ought to have begun their books, as they have done, with
the genealogy of the Mefliah.
For, firft of all, it was neceffary that the defcent of the Mefliah from
Abraham by Davids fhould bu clearly made out : it was requifite there-
fore that they fhould let down fuch a genealogy as was known by the
■whole Jetvift) nation : now this they have done with very great care ;
and rhe thing was fo eafy, and fo well known, that even a blind man of
the neighbourhood of Samaria ', the chief city of the kings of Epbraim,
did publicly call Jefus the fori of David.
Bat, on the other fide, St. Paul's forbidding the ftudy of genealogies,
does not at all contradict the method of thofe two Evangel ifts.
In fhort, he purfues the very fame notions : he faw, that the converted
Jew: applied themfelves to the ftudy of genealogies, which was then
fo gieat a part of the ftudy of their nation : it is ftill pra&ifed among
the Jews to that degree, that fince their difperfion they gave an exacl: re-
tion of all the Doctors and Rabbies amongft them who have rjreferved
the tradition, and who were profelites of juftice (/). What Therefore
was to be done in this cafe ? He took it for granted, that God had en-
gaged every Jew to ftudy his own pedigree with care, for no other end
but only to have that of the Mefliah diftin&ly known whenever he
fliouid come.
But the ufe of thefe genealogies being once over, by the Meffiah's
coming into the world, he obferves, with reafon, that it was no longer
neceflary to keep up the vain ftudy of all thofe genealogies.
So that we fee he fpeaks againft the ftudy of pedigrees, much upon
the fame grounds as in other places he inveighs againft circumcifioo ;
for fince the chiefeft ufe of genealogies, as well as of circumcifion, was
to diftinguifh Jbtaham's poiterity from the reft of mankind, till the
Mefliah was come, the ufe of thefe two obfervations was naturally to
ceafs after he was once come.
It is, no doubt, for the fame reafon, that whereas the Jews in the
Apoftle's time took great care, upon all occafions, to take notice of the
tribe from which they were defcended, as well as to fet down the names
of their fathers ; yet one fees that the Apoftles did not all aftecT: it.
And if St. Paul mentions his being a Benjamitey it was for a particu-
lar reafon j for other wife, as he preached down the diftinction betwixt
Jews
{i) MainfQTi. Prof, ad J ad* Cbazaka.
3^0 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVI II.
yews and Gentiles, fo he declared himfelf with the fame earneftnefs
againft the diftin&ions which were obferved amongft their tribes.
CHAP. xvur.
That the Manner whereby the Law of Mos ES fixed the People of Israel
to the Land of Canaan, was to keep them feparated from other
Nations.
ONE of the chiefeft means which God made ufe of to diftinguifh
his people of Ifrael from the reft of mankind, was fo to fix their
affections upon the land of Canaan, that they fhould look upon it as a
country which belonged to them by a particular conceflion from God,
which derogated from the Canaanites right, to whom that country fell
in the divifion of the earth that was made amongft the children of Noah,
or which re-eftablifhed the pofterity of Shem in their juft rights, to
whom, if we may credit the ancient tradition, related by St. Epipha-
nius{&), this country did really belong by virtue of that divifion
amongft the three fons of Noah, though afterwards they were driven
cut of it by the pofterity of Ham.
Mofes feems to have exprefTed this truth, when he faith, Gen. xii. that
when Abraham came to Canaan, the Canaanite was already in the land ;
that is, he had already invaded it : neither can we refer what he relates
in thexivth chapter, concerning the war which the kings from the eafl:
came to make againft the king of Sodom and Gomorrha, to any thing elfe.
It was then, far this reafon, that long before Mofei's time, God took
Abraham out of Chaldea, from amongft Shem's pofterity, to bring him
into Canaan amongft the Hivites, the Amorites, and other nations all
equally defcended from Ham, whom God had curfed.
God could have placed Abraham any where elfe j but he chofe to bring
him into a country which the pofterity of Ham had feized upon already,
rather than into a place pofleft'ed by the pofterity of Japhet, on pur-
pofe that the jealoufy might be the greater betwixt Abraham and the in-
habitants of the country into which God had brought him.
Neverthelefs, God did not give him at firft an entire pofleflion, but
only promifed him that his pofterity fhould enjoy it, and in the mean
while invefted him, beforehand, with a right to it, by the purchafe of
a field for a burying-place, wherein his wife, himfelf, and his children,
were buried; by which means he ftrongly fixed his own mind, and the
Jiopes of his pofterity.
In fhort, it is evident, that all the clory which Jacob found in Egypt,
when he was invited thither by Jofeph, did not make him forget the right
which he claimed upon that land, by virtue of the fepulchrc both of his
father and grandfather, that was there. For Mofes informs us, that he
defired to be carried thither after his death, and that he did exprefsly re-
quire
(I) Haeref. Ixvi. n. 84,
Ch. XVIII. four lafl Books of Mofes. 331
quire this duty from Jofepb and his other children, who paid it in fo very
folemn a manner, and with a mourning fo very great and famous, that
the name of Abel-Mizraim continued to that very place where the Ca-
naanites faw the folemnization of that funeral by the fons of Jacob, who
were attended by great numbers of Egyptians.
One fees that Jacob's children ftill entertained the fame hope : Jofepb
folemnly engaged his children to carry his bones into the land of Canaan :
and one may judge that the other Patriarchs were not lefs folicitous to
require the fame office at the hands of their children, as St. Stephen (/)
fuppofes it, Atls vii. agreeably to the common opinion of the Jews : ail
which (hews, that Abraham's pofterity had their hearts fet upon his fe-
pulchre, as upon the pledge and fecurity of God's promife, that they
ihould be once pofTefled of that land where he was buried.
And as the carrying the body of Jacob into Canaan, fufficiently fhewed
what were the claims of the Ifraelites ; fo the fame was very evident by
their care in keeping themfelves unmixed with the Egyptians, all thetime
they fojourned in Egypt. The fpiendor cf Jfeph was a natural engage-
ment for them to fettle themfelves there for ever : befides, their vaft
increafe forced them in a manner to it. For a long time the miferies
which they endured, invited them to feek the alliances of the Egyptians
by marriages, and to mix themfelves with a people who were their
mafters, and fo to renounce hopes which appeared to be fo very ground-
lefs. They feemed to have been warranted by Jofepb's example, who
had married an Egyptian. However, one never finds that they tried that
method. One fees on the contrary, that there was little correfpondence
between the Hebrews and Egyptians in their facred things : for the
Hebrews facrificed to God the abomination of the Egyptians, that is,
thofe very things which the Egyptians worfhipped.
One fees afterwards, by the great number of flocks which they drove
along with them at their going out of Egypt, that they had continued to
follow the profefnon of their anceftors, who were fhepherds, a very
odious employment to the Egyptians.
One fees at laft, that after the many miracles which Mofts wrought
in the Egyptian court, this people followed God's conduci, and went
out of that country, to pofiefs the land of Canaan, which none of them
had ever feen ; and yet they looked upon the obtaining it as a biefling
they could not mifs of.
There are feveral things very remarkable upon that fubjeel:.
The firft is, that fome Egyptians went out with the Ifraelites to dwell
with them in the land cf Canaan ; which was done, not only that there
mfghtbe fome indifputable witnefies, from among the enemies of God, of
the truth and greatn.fs of the miracles which Mofes had wrought amona;ft x
them, which alfo was a prefage of the calling of the Gentiles to the faith,
by their infcrtiori into the body of the Jews ; but alfo that there might
be fome witnefies of the extraordinary affc&ion which the people of
Jfrael had for the land of Canaan, and of their claims to it by virtue of
God's promife, that he would put them into pofTefTion of it. For other-
wife it is not a common thing that a colony of flaves fhould be fufFered
£0 run away, much lefs that they fhould perfuade their mafters to forfake
their
(/) Jalkut, ex Siphre, fol. 3 1 1, col. 2.
332 R?ft*ions upon the Ch. XIX.
their own country, and their fettlements at home, to go and conquer
another for them.
The fecond remark is, that God made the Jews travel for forty years
in the deferts of Ai abia, not only to make them forget any tie* they
might have had to return again into Egypt, and to accuftom them to
depend wholly upon Divine providence, but alfo to redouble their
defires after the pofleflion of this land of promife.
It was for the fame rcafon that God forbad them fo ftraitly either the
mingling with, or the fettling themfelves amongft, theMiaianites, though
Mofes had given an example by marrying Sephora ; or the Edomites, or
the Ifmaelites, or the Moabites, or the Ammonites, though ail thofe na-
tions were defcended from Terah, their common father, or. from the
Patriarchs.
In execution of which fevere prohibition, God commanded the Jews
to put all thofe to the fword who fhould make any alliance with thole
nations, as we have inftance of it, Numb, xxiii. after the defcription of
Balaam's prophecies.
And it cc uld be for no other end that he fo ftraitly charged the
Ifrae/ites to cut off the Hivites, Amorites, and other nations of Canaan,
even to the women and little children, but in puri'uance of his firft de-
fign to prevent all mixture of his people with thofe nations, which
without that extreme rigour would infallibly and infeniibly have come
to pafs.
I know very well that God preferved the Gibeonites, by ratifying that
alliance which -gave leave to thofe people, though of the pofterity of
Ham, to continue amongft his own people in the land of Canaan ; but
though God did in effect preferve the Gibeonites amongft the Jews, vet
he forced them to undergo the drudgery, and fervile offices of the taber-
nacle, and that they might be kept, as unqueftionable witneffes of the
Hebrews pretenfions, and of their miraculous conqueft of the land of
Canaan; for the continuance of that nation in the heart of the country,
and their fubmitting to the drudgery of carrying wood and water for
the ufe of the tabernacle, though they were at firft of another religion,
was, as I have obferved already, a continual fubjeel of admiration to
thepofterity both of the Jews and of the Gibeonites themfelves.
CHAP. XIX.
That the Law tied the people of Israel to the Land of Canaan, and by
federal other Means ejtablifoed tie DiJlinElion betwixt Tribes and Families
amongfl them.
ONE may fay, that one of the moft effectual means which God ufed
to fix his people to the land of Canaan, was the law which he gave
them to meet thrice a year, and celebrate three folemn fcalts together,
which
Ch. XIX* four hjl Booh of Msfes. 333
which hardly g^ve them leave to travel far into other countries, and
engaged them, every time they met, to renew, in the public a&s of
their religion, the memory and the ideas of their hopes: and they con-
duced to this defign of God in this manner.
Thofe feafts were celebrated at three times, which were the mod com-
modious feafons of the year for travelling, betwixt the months of March
and Oclobcr : the celebration of the pafiover was upon the fourteenth
day after the appearance of the moon in March ; the pentecoft was fifty-
days after; and the feaft of the tabernacles lafted from the £rft to the
tenth day of September.
In fhort, the law which obliged the Jews to aflift at the celebration
of thofe feafts, required the appearance of all the males of twenty years
of age and upwards, fo very rigoroufly, that there was no di (pen fat ion ;
for all (without exception) were then obliged to appear : fo that, even
during the difperfions of their nation, the Jews who lived out of Judca
aflifted always at the celebration of thofe three feafts with great care.
This was a vifible way of keeping the tribes of Ifrael diftinc}, by-
giving each of them a feparate portion in the land of Canaan, and by-
fixing them infeparably to it ; as the whole nation was in like manner
diftinguifhed, by its being placed in a country entirely by itfelf.
We fee accordingly, that God hathobferved that method, by giving.
a law which enjoins the divifion of the land of Canaan to be made into
as many portions as there were tribes, only excepting the tribe of Ltvit
becaufe the Lev ites, as being the public minifters of their religion, were
difperfed amongft the other tribes, that they might more conveniently
attend to the inftru&ion of the people.
I fhall not here take notice of the miracle which was evident in that
divifion, which was an exadl accomplifhment of the oracle which Jacob
and Mofes uttered a little before their deaths.
But i fhall obferve, firft, that as the defign of God was to divide that
people into tribes, that the tribe a{Judak, from which the Mefiiah was
to be born, might be the better diftinguifhed and known, fo he would,
for the fame reafon, allot the cave of Machpelah, the fepulchre of the
Patriarchs, to the {hare of the tribe of Judah, as alfo Ephratah, the
place where Rachel was buried, which was afterwards called Bethlehem^
the town where David had his birth, and which was foretold by the Pro-
phet Micah under the name of Ephratah, as the place where the Mef-
iiah fhould be born in the fulnefs of time.
We mult befides take notice of two particular regulations, by which
God fixed his people in the land of Canaan, and preferved adiftmcl: idea
of this firft divifion of that country.
The firft is the law of jubilee.
The fecond is the law of lineal retreats.
In fhort, by the law of the jubilee, which returned every fifty years,
and by which every one that could juftify his pedigree, was reinftated
in the pofTeffions ot his anceftors, God obliged that people to keep up a
diftin& knowledge of the firft divifion made under jojhua {m), and
which is defcribed in that book which contains his hiitory, much more
eitedtually than if he had made a law for that very purpole: fo that, though
the
{m) Jolliua xiv, &c.
334 Reflexions upon the Ch. XlJt*
the field of Epbraiah had been never Co often alienated, yet it always
returned to the tribe of Judah, and fa afterwards into David's family,
becaufe it was at firft the lot oi his anceftors.
This law of jubilee preferved a diflindt knowledge of the feveral tribes
and families ; and it alfo kept up a difrincf, idea of their genealogies,
which muft be preferved entire of neceflity, that they might maintain
their right to the inheritance of their anceftors.
It would be to no purpofe to objedr. againft this obfervation, that it
was impoflible to know certainly which tribe, and much lefs which
family, every eftate did belong to, becaufe one fees that the firft pro-
felytes who went out with the Ifraelites^ fhared the land of Canaan
together with them : for one fees on the contrary,
Firft, that God would not allow any of the Moabites and Ammonites
to become profelytes before the tenth generation ;
And fecondly, that he debarred the Edomites from being admitted to
make profeffion of Judaifm before the third generation, which excluded
them for ever from any pofTeflions in the land of Canaan.
And thirdly, one ought to oblerve the difference betwixt an Egyptian
proiVIyte, and a native Jew : the quality of a profelyte gave permiffion
to an Egyptian to live amongft the Jews, and to prbfefs their religion j
but it gave him no tight to pofTefs any of their land.
And then, befides that, thofe Egyptian profelytes had a particular way
of praying by themfelves, different from that of the Jews, as the Jews
ftill teftify («)- They could not pofTefs any eftate in land amongft them :
this is (o true, that it was once found necefTary to make a particular
regulation for the daughters of Zelophehad(o), that they might have their
divifion, which was granted only under certain conditions, becaufe the
land was not to be divided, but amongft the males of the people of
Ifrael.
But this is very confiderable, that, by this law of the jubilee, God
fixed the Jews to the land of Canaan, by giving the children a power to
Jook upon themfelves, not only as the prefumpiive heirs of their parent?,
but to confider their parents only as ufufrwluaries, fince all their pof-
ieflions in land were fo entailed, that the children, or right heirs of any
man, could not mils of the reverfion ; becaufe, whatever alienation was
made, it could lail but for a time, to the year of jubilee, which reftored
all the alienated poffeifion?, abfolutely and entirely, to the right heirs*
No'.v, that this law was always looked upon as a fundamental law
amonglt the Jews, appears cle.irly from the words in Leviticus (/>), and
from the hiltory of Nabotb, which holy man rather chofe to die than to
comply with the injuft defireof Ahab9 who would have forced Nabotb to
fell his eftate abfolutely, notwithstanding God's exprefs prohibition.
The exemplary vengeance which God took upon Nabotb's murder,
and the relation of it recorded in Scripture, is a further confirmation of
this fame truth : if a king of Ifrael durft not at firft infringe that law,
if it was not violated by any other than Jefabe!, who was a foreign prin-
cefs ; if the tranf^reflion of that law was puntfhed in l'uch an exemplary
manner j
(«) Maffa Dicccur. c.i. S. 4. (0) Numb, xxvii.
(/) Leviticus xxv, 23. 1 Kings xxi.
CH. XIX. four lafl Booh of Mofes. 33$
manner; who can doubt but that it was particularly obferved in the tribe
of Judah, as a fundamental law by which God tied up his people infe-
parably to this very country ?
One needs only make fome few reflexions upon thofe words which
God makes ufe of, Ezck. xlvi. to agree to what I fay, if thofe reflexions
which I have made already upon NabotFs murder be alio added to
them.
One may obferve upon the fame fubjecl, that though God had feveral
times fubjecred the Jews to a foreign power, yet he never fuffered the
whole nation to be all carried away out of Canaan at one time, nor yet
to continue in captivity for the time of two whole jubilees j they were
but feventy years in Babylon, which was the furtheft place that they
were ever carried into.
From whence we may naturally conclude, that their genealogies could
notbe confounded in fo fhort a time, becaufe many that were at the
confecration of the fecond temple had feen the firft : nor could the di-
ftin£f. knowledge of the feveral divifions of their eftates be obliterated ;
becaufe thofe of every tribe who continued ftill in the land, might vifibly
keep them up.
And we here of neceflity ought to obferve in the firft place, what we
may read in the xxxiid chapter of Jeremiah (q), concerning the fale of
a field which Jeremiah bought :
And fecondiy, what we read Nehem. the vth, where he is troubled to-
Tee the alienation of their fields, which was a confequence of their
mifery :
And thirdly, themanner how that people were reflored to their eftates,
according to the fundamental laws of their ftate.
Another very effectual means to fix that people to the land of Canaanr
and to preferve their families there certainly without confufion, was the
law of lineal retreats, which God inftituted for this very purpofe.
For in fhort, when this rule was once laid down, that upon the fai-
lure of an heir in any family, the next kinfman was the heir at law,
it appears plainly, that every one was obliged, for his own intereft, to»
inquire with diligence into the genealogical lives of his own tribe, that
he might inftru6l himfeif in the ftate of the feveral families of his kin-
dred, and of the feveral degrees of proximity of blood whereby they
might be related, becaufe the exact knowledge of thefe lifts, and of thole
feveral degrees of kindred, were abiblutely necefTary to make ufe of this
right of lineal retreats.
. There were two other laws which contributed alio to this ; one where-
of regulated all that was to be done, when there were none but daugh-
ters left in a family : a famous inftance of which, we have in the hiftory
of the daughters of Zelophehad, fet down twice by Mofes, on purpofe, no
doubt, that it fhould be the more taken notice of, as I intend to fhew
particularly in another place.
Theother law regulated all that the next kinfman of any one that died
childlefs, was obliged to do in refpecl of the relict, and of the eftate of
the deceafed, if he intended to redeem it. One finds in the book of
RlUhy
(f ) Jcrem, xxxii.
336 Reflexions upon the Cn. XXi
Ruth, nn illuftrious example of the execution of this law, which maybe
found Deuter. xxv.
Now after all this, let any one judge, whether there could be any
frronger ties than thefe, to oblige the people of Jfracl to continue in the
land of Canaan ; and whether the divilion which God made of it, betwixt
their feveral tribes and families, was not an infallible means to diitin-
guifh them certainly one from another.
C H A P. , XX.
IThat the Laws which Moses made concerning the State of Virginity, did
principally relate alfo to the Messiah, which holds alfo as to feveral other
Laws*
T TITHERTO I have fhewed the care which God took to diftiri-
^~J_ guifh his people of Ifrael from all other nations of the world ; and
I afterwards mewed what care he took to keep the diffinciions which he
firft fet upamongft the tribes; and 1 afterwards explained thofe laws which
he gave, to oblige every family in each tribe to remain diftincT:; and I
afterwards made it manifeft, that the divifton of the land of Canaan was
a very proper means to execute this defign of God.
All which (hews, that God intended to make it eafy for every man to
diftinguifh the Meffiah, when it it fhould be once known that he was to
be born out of the family of Jcjje> as it was afterwards foretold by feveral
exprefs oracles.
But as there ought to be fomething fupernatural in the birth of the
Meffiah, who was to be born of a V irgin, fo we ought to fee what care
God took in his laws, that the birth of the Meffiah, even in this very
article, might not be a fact too difficult to be acknowledged and ella-
blifhed.
In the firft promife which God made to man in thefe words, That the
feed of the woman flmdd bruife the ferpent's bead, beingjoined with Jfaiah's
prophecy, Behold, a virgin Jhall conceive, &c. If. vii. it is viiible, that
for the accomplifhment of thefe orucles, one ought to fuppofe that the
Meffiah muft be born of a virgin, as the Chriftians profefs to believe*
Why fhould God otherwife have taken care, to infinuate, from the very
beginning of the world, that the Meffiah was to be born of the feed of a
woman, without mentioning any thing of a man, if he had not fup-
pofed that he fhould be born without the operation of a man r And why
ihould lfaiah propofe the conceiving of a virgin, as an effect wholly fu-
pernatural ?
In fhort, God did therefore by his laws not only fecure the ftatc of
virginity, that this thing might not be ambiguous when it fhould be ac-
complifhed, but (as we ihall fee here] he has by thefe laws made it ex-
tremely illuftrious.
3 Firft,
Ch. XX. four lafi Booh of Mofes. 337
Firft, befides that, God would have the punifhment of death inflicted
upon them that were at any time found guilty of fins againft nature, as
alfo upon them that mould be proved to have had any inceftuous com-
merce with thofe that were nearly related to them, and to whom either
the nearnefs of blood, or affinity, gave them a more free and familiar
accefs. He moreover ftraitly commanded, that all proftitutes mould
be put to death without any mercy (r).
Secondly, he is not contented to forbid fornication and adultery
in general, by condemning to death thofe that exprefsly mould be con-
victed of it, and by awarding the fame fentence againft him that mould
happen to corrupt a contracted virgin, and the virgin herfelf (s) ; but
he alfo hinders men, by two ways, from falling into fins of impurity; he
permitted, on the one hand, a divorce where the wife did not pleafe her
hufband, and on the other hand he allowed of polygamy. This tolera-
tion made that virgins, on the one fide, not remaining too long unmar-
ried, were not eafily to be corrupted ; and, on the other fide, men were
not very forward to debauch thofe women whom they did not intend to
marry, or to keep when married; for he that was compelled to marry a
virgin whom he had feduced, was exprefsly forbidden to put her away
for ever after (t).
It is natural to obferve thedefign of thofe laws amongft the people of
the fews («). In fhort, the defireof iffue made them marry very young ;
moftof the men were married at eighteen years of age.
Therefore all virgins thought it a fhame to be unmarried; therefore
God makes them fpeak, in the third of Ifaiah, in that manner, when
feven women would marry one man, without afking any thing for diet or
clothes, provided only that he would take away that reproach of living
without having children. It was this defire of posterity which made
the women look upon barrennefs as a curfe.
Again, this vehement defire of children made eunuchs to be regarded
as men particularly abhorred of God, not only by the fews, but alfo by
the Heathens themfelves (*•) : although afterwards they pafled for holy
men, becaufe they defigned to imitate what (as they were told) had hap-
pened to Noah) by his fon Ham^ which introduced the cuftom amongft
the jfJJ'yrians of caftrating themfelves, that they might be priefts.
Thirdly, God commanded, that any virgin which was betrothed to a
hufband, and was corrupted in her father's houfe, or that was ravifhed
without calling for help, mould be punifhed with death {y)\ fo that all
the virgins were indifpenfably engaged, for fear of lollng both life and
honour together, to preferve their virginity with all poffible care.
But here is a fourth law concerning this matter, whereby God obliged
the parents of all contracted virgins to take a more than ordinary care of
.them, when he commands, Deut. xxii. 21. That a virgin for whom the
tokens of virginity were not founds fiould be brought out of the door of her
father's
(r) Exod. xxii. Deut. xxii. Levit. xviii. Levit. xx. Deut. xxiii. 17.
{/) Exod. xxii. Levit. xx. Deut. xii.
(/) Deut. xxii. («) Majfec. Avoth. c. £.
(#) Lucian. de Eunuch* p. 537. Lucian, de Dea Syria, p. 1069,
(y) Deut. xxii.
Vol. I. Y
2$$ Reflexions upon the Ch. XX.
father's houfe, and there bejlonedto death by the men of the city ; for fo her
parents were, by that means, made partakers of the punifhment of her
crime, and their negligence was feverely punifhed by fuch a fhameful
execution as difh^nourcd their whf le family.
Fifthly, God fubmitted womerrco the examination of their hufbands
to whom they were married : nay, one would think that he intended to
raife the jealoufy of hufbands, when he gives them leave to bring their
wives to a public trial, and to punifh. them with death, when they did
not preferve the tokens of their virginity.
It was for that reafon that he commanded (z), that the parents or
near relations of the young married women thus complained of, fhould
produce upon all fuch occafions the tokens of the virginity of thofe
daughters which they difpofed in marriage, which was ufually done with
roahy fclemn circumftances and formalities.
And here are three things which deferve to be attentively confidered.
The firft is, the cuftom that was amongft the Jews for parents never
to let their virgin daughters go out their houfes ; which cuftom made
them be called concealed, in oppofition to thofe that went abroad, that
is, that were proftitutes.
The fecond is, another cuftom which the juft defire of preferving the
virginity of their daughters againff all accidents, had introduced amongft
that people ; which was, that all their virgins did wear a fort of fetters,
which are called, in the Talmud, cevalim, which are defcribed by the fa-
mous Mofes, the fon of Maimon, in this manner : Cevalim Junt compedes
in fsrma feriJccUdis, inter quo <s inUrfofuerunt catenulas, illis compedibus or-
nabantfe virgines, ut non xnctdereni paff'u magna, ne contigeret ipfis damnum
in virginitate Jua [a). This description may be thought to be one of the
foolifh fancies of the modern fetus, if we did not meet with proofs of
the practice of that cuftom in more ancient times. In fhort, one fees,
in the third of Ijdiah, that chains are reckoned up amongft other orna-
ments of the daughters of Ifrael, which God threateneth to take away
from them, when he would force them to go captives into Babylon.
The third is, an ancient tradition mentioned in the Pirke Eliezer, in the
fixteenth chapter, Solent lfraelitcs digito educere inrginitatem, ne incidant in
dubitationem <vel Jufpicionem, jv.xta iilud, fumat pater & mater puelli-e, Sec.
In a word, it feems that, for fear leftthefe tokens of virginity fhould
be thought to be obfeure and ambiguous by their hufbands, God has
provided for the fecuring of the virginity of their young women before
marriage by a miracle, the experience whereof was ordinary and com-
mon amongft fo jealous a people ; I mean, the waters of jealoufy (b),
which all women, whofe carriage was fufpected by their hufbands, were
obliged to drink, by which God did either miraculoufly juftify them, or
clfe he began to inflict a punifhment upon them, which was fo much the
more dreadful and exemplary, as it proceeded from the hand of God
himfelf. This miracle lafted to the deftruclion of the fecond temple, as
the Jews them (lives tell us in that
ceriiS women fu (peeled of adultery.
However,
[*) E {a) /dMrfcc. SabU/b. c. 6. J. 4.
.. Jofepb. 1. 3. Antiq ^95. (>) Seta, c. 9.
Ch. XX. four Jafl Bocks of Mofes. 339
However, as God works no miracles without great reafons, fo he
here made a law, the obfervance whereof was very rigorous ; which was,
that he would not fuffer any women to be married when there was the
leaft probability that they had their courfes, but that they fhould be
feparated at that time, as unclean.
The reafon of this law was, becaufe it was then almoft impoflible but
that the lewd women might have impofed upon their hufbands in the
marks of their virginity, which at that time are very uncertain ; not to
fay, that, as a politic lawgiver, he might prefcribe the obfervation of
this law, left the commonwealth of the Jews fhould have been over-
looked ^vith weak and iickly people.
Laftly, one fees that God himfelf has fattened a blot upon leprous
perfons, becaufe they were fuppofed to have been conceived when their
mothers had their courfes [d) : and hereupon was that law of God
founded, which debarred lepers for ever from the right of coming into
the congregation of his people.
One ought to make the lame obfervation upon thofe that were unlaw-
fully begotten ; for they were deprived of the right of entering into the
congregation ; and how innocent foever they were, as to the lewdnefs
of tnofe who gave them their lives, yet they were thus with them made
partakers of the punifhment of their fin.
If one confiders all theie feveral laws attentively, one (hall find, on
the one hand, that feveral of them were of very little moment, except
we fuppofe that God intended to fecure the ftate of virginity by them
beyond all danger ; and on the other hand, one fhall find that fome of
them are very levere about things which do not feem to deferve fo ter-
rible a rigour.
But if we confider them according to God's defign, as he hath after-
wards particularly explained it, they v/ill appear, 1 am confident, to
be all very worthy of the wifdom of fuch a lawgiver.
One needs only reflect upon that method of God that I have now
explained, to fee that nothing can be conceived to be better managed,
than this model according to the defign which God himfelf had drawn.
One may make the fame obfervations, and examine the fame ftrokes
of the wifdom of God, in feveral other precautions which he made ufe
of to make the Mefliah be perfectly diftingu ifhed according to the feveral
characters under which he was to be propofed afterwards by the miniftry
bf the Prophets.
One fees that the Mefliah, being to be born of a virgin, was to be a
firft-born ; and for that reafon, we find many laws which diftinguifh in
general the privileges of the firft-born.
So it appear.-, by the xviiithof Deuieronomy, that the Mefliah was to
be a Prophet ; and therefore God afterwards gave notice by the Pro-
phets of all thofe lights which fhould particularly appear in him. In
prof peel of this, God gave, by the miniftry of Me/ies, fuch characters
as would diflinguifli the true Prophets from thofe who endeavoured to
ufurp that name.
It appears alfo, that becaufe God was to communicate to the Mefliah,
a power
{d) If dor. Pchts, 1. 5. Ep. 1 j;. Jofepb. Antif* 1. 3. p. 94.
Y 2
340 " Reflexions upon the Ch. XXTt
a power of working miracles (which Mfes intimates, by fayingr that
he was to be a Prophet like unto him), therefore ljalab fpccifics the
character of thofe miracles in chapjer xxxv. of his prophecy ; and God
explains, in particular, the laws concerning the blind and the lame ; and
for the lame reafon, he gives an account of all forts of leprofy, that it
might be difrin^tlv known which was incurable.
It is ealy to thole who will attend to the law of Mofes, to fee that
they weie fubfervient to this defign of God, in purfuancc of thofe pro*
fpects which we have already let down.
CHAP. XXI.
¥l)at it was the Defign of God, by all thefe Ceremonies , and particularly by
that Ven:rat;on which he infpired the Jews with, for the Tab/made, to.
■preferve the Ideas of the Mejftah, whom he had ptomifed, in their Mindst
by dijiinguijhing them from all other Nations.
A
FTER all thofe obfervati ns which I have made upon the feveral
people to a certain place, and there to keep them fcparate, it is natural
to judge, that the ceremonial laws which he gave them for the regula-
ting their outward worfhip, were alio intended for the fame end. This
I muft fhew, in refpecl of (he holinefs which God afcribes to the land of
Canaan, and in refpe£t cf the whole fervice of the tabernacle, of its
myftericuscon<fruc"tion in all its parts; and in refpc£t alio of the raifing
of t.t\L' material temple, afterwards, to be as it were the centre of their
whole religion.
It was certainly for this purpofe that he particularly confecrated fe-
veral things to himfelf, as the firfr. fruits, and the fiift-boin ; and that
he fet apart certain times, as the firfr day of the month, and certain,
folemnfcafts, befides the fabbath-day, which were celebrated long before.
.And he alio confecrated feveral place>, as the towns of refuge $ and yet
more particularly, the tabernacle and the temple : but it was efpeciaily
for that reafon, that he had confecrated certain rites and ceremonies,
certain facfifices, both of animate and inanimate things, and Certain
offerings of gold and {liver, perfumes, &c.
One fees that he reje&ed any fir ft fruits that did not grow in the
land of Canaan: one fees, that though fome faenfices were common to
the Jews and their neighbours, yet he diftinguifhed them by fo many
circumUanc* s, that tbey were much different from the o. hers : thus he
forbids them to make ufe of fiatues before which other nations ufed to
faenfic at th.4 time ; and he commanded them not to facrifice upon
high places, wUre the heathens ufed to make their offerings very early
in the morning, at fun-rife, which gave rife to their worfhip of the
rifing fun
Uut there is nothing more difcovers the defign of God, than the laws
by which he fixed their worfhip, fiift to the tabernacle, and afterwards
tQ
Ch. XXI. four lajl Booh of Mofes. 341
to the temple, at the places where God did particularly refide. One
may fay, that it was for that reafofl God commanded the reprefenta-
tions of angels, and of his law, and of the manna, to be preferved here;
all which, befides that they were memorials of the ancient apparitions
and favours of God to that people, were exprefs figures of God's
glory, of his will, and of his miraculous power : he added alfo a can-
dleiiiclc with feven branches, a table covered with loavec, and an altar
of incenfe, which weie figures of the feven planets of this vifible world,
of the bleftings which we enjoy by nature* and of thofe acknowledg-
ments which we owe unto God for all thefe : he commanded alfo, that
nonefhould offer facrifices in any other place except the temple.
He would not permit that any but thofe who were purified according
to the law fhould enter into it; he excluded all uncircumcifed pcrfons
for ever: as Mojhhzd formerly been commanded to pull off his fhoes in
the defert, at his approaching to the burning buffi, fo every one that en-
tered into the temple, was to enter barefoot, as a mark of that refpectt
which had formerly been exacted of Mofes.
And what other reafon but that, could oblige him to give, both at the
confecration of the temple, and afterwards, fo many fenfible marks of
hisprefence ? That cloud which was called his Glory, refted there; the
XJrim and Thummlm, which was an oracle for that whole nation, was
there ; there was a daily facrifice offered up for the whole people; there
were celebrated the three folemn feafts of the paffover, of pentecoft, and
of tabernacles : he forbad them to facrifice any where elfe, and he gave
frequent and illuftrious oracles at that p'ace.
One ought alfo to obferve, that after this temple (to which all the
glory of the tabernacle was tranfmitted) was fixed at fe> ufa^em, he or-
dered it to be fuch a fenfible mark of his prefence, that when we re d
the hiftory of Ifrael's march in the defert, we find that the tabernacle
was the image of the temple, and built after its model : fo that as the
tabernacle always {food in the midff. of the tents of the Levites, and the
Levites in the midft of the whole camp of all the tribes of Ijraei, who
were all lifted under their proper liandards; fo one fees afterwards, that
the temple, the Levites, and the people of Jerufalem, were placec, ac-
cording to their different degrees of holinels, as they were to approach
to the moft holy place, which was the habitation of his holinef.-.
Certainly, one may fav, that the building up of a tabernacle, or of a
temple, feems to be din clly contrary to the nature of religion, accord-
ing to whic h, God who is a fpirit, will be worfhipped in ipirit, and in
truth ; fo thcit this feems to have been quitted for a time, when he com-
manded the building of a tabernacle.
But really there was nothing more agreeable to the defign which God
had formed at ft: ft, as to thar people: he intended to make it vitible; and
it appears th .t notning could be more efteitu.il to make it fo, than the
double necedity to which that whole people was reduced, to meet in
a body feveral times every year in the fame place, and to off. r all their
facrifices in the tabernacle, and to be there perpetually employed m the
ceiemonial fervice, which did infeparably draw them thither, and fix
them there.
The end of all thofe vifible affemblies, was to perpetuate the know-
Y 3 ledge
342 Rcjlcxkns upon the Ch. XXI.
ledge of the principal verities of their religion, and efpecially to renew
perpetually the hopes of that people, as to the Meiliah, who was pro-
mised to them from God.
For God having fhortened the long lives which men commonly en-
joyed in the beginning before they went out of Egypt, fo that five or fix
perfons could no longer preferve the tradition of 2000 years as they had
done till Mofes's time, God was of neceifity obliged to make ufe of fome
other means to fupply that defect.
He had already made ufe of feveral before ; anxmgfr. which, was that
which we find defcribed Dcut. xxvii. where he ordered the building of an
altar with rough ftones, whereupon the names of the twelve tribes, and
the whole law, were to be engraved.
He afterwards followed other methods; and thus we fee that Samuel?
following Mofa and Jojbua's example, repeats before a folemn afiembly
of the people met ztGilgal, for the confecration of Saul, the things that
came to pafs during the government of Bedan or Samp/on, o{Jephtha and
his own.
But yet the beft way was to fix this people to one tabernacle, wherein
we fee that befides the monuments which preferved the memory of the
great miracles that God had wrought at the foundation of the Jewijh
commonwealth, as the pot of manna, Aaron % rod that bloffomed, the
plates of the altar that had been made out of the cenfers of Corah?
Dathan, and their confederates —
One fees that the law, and the books of the covenant, were deposited
there by God's order, and the principal tranfactions and deliverances
that were wrought by God in the behalf of that people, were continu-
ally celebrated with hymns and other tokens of public thankfulnefs.
It was, no doubt, upon this account, that he caufed the book of the
law to be laid up there, with many ceremonies and expiations; and that
he enjoined it to be read publicly in the prefence of the whole congre-
gation every feven years : one fees that he commanded that every family
ihould read this book continually, and that all fhould entertain their
wives and children, from their tendered years, with the den^n of the
law, night and day, in the country, and in the town, at all times, and
in all places.
One fees that God engaged them to it, not only by an exprefs com-
mand, but alfo by an indifpenfable nccefJity, becaufe he made it death for
any man to violate any of thofe ceremonial laws, from a principle of
obftinacy : no pardon could be obtained for the tranfgreffions committed
through ignorance, before they were expiated by certain facrifices, the
forms whereof were fcrupuloufly prefcribed in the law, and which could.
be violated upon no account whatever.
Jf one confiders thofe things, he may fay that the Jnvs had fcarce
one moment free in their lives ; fo prefling was the necemty which lay
upon them to confult the law of God, the regulations of which were
fo very exact and particular, that there, no actions, public or private,
could happen, but what were regulated and determined by thefe con-
fiitutions.
ii a bcaft was born, the owner was to examine whether it was the
nrlt-born,
Ch. XXII. four lajl Books of Mofes. 343
firft-born or no, whether it was clean or unclean, and whether it was
to be redeemed, with feveral other things of this nature.
If a woman was big with child, there were many queftions to be
afked : when (he came to lie-in, feveral very different ceremonies were
pra&ifed, according as the child was firft-bprn, or not. The law en-
joined various purifications, according as the woman brought forth a
ion or a daughter.
God had prescribed a great number of laws for all the accidents of
life; for marriages, for fucceffions, for funerals, for mourning, for un-
forefeen accidents, as the death of a man that was killed without the
defign of his murderer; for feveral crimes that might be committed,
in their feveral pollutions and fequellrations, &c.
It feems that this whole people, from the time that they came to the
ufe of their reafon, to the time of their death, was flill continually
obliged to keep up a correfpondence with the priefts and Levites^ whom
God had for this purpofe difperfe.d amongft all the tribes of Ifrael, and
to confult the law and the teftimony, to be inftrucled in the manner of
governing themfelves; but particularly, they were to look upon the tem-
ple and the tabernacle as the centre of their whole religion : and how
could they do this, without carrying their profpecl: at the fame time to
thofe great promifes of the Meffiah, of which the Ifraelltes were depo-
sitaries? I fay, upon thofe promifes, which railed up fo manyjealoufies
betwixt their forefathers and the anceftors of thofe neighbouring na-
tions, with whom they had always fome controverfy, and were to be
confidered as glorious and honourable to the whole nation.
CHAP. XXII.
That it appears by the Books of Moses, that this whole Model which God
had framed, was to lajl but until the Coming of the Mejfiah.
BUT if we find in Mofes\ law a feverereftri&ion in all that belongs
to the execution of the promife of the Meffiah (which mews that
God intended to have that nation difiingui/hed from all others, till
the blefled feed was come) ; if we find that he retrained that promife to
one tribe, one town, one family, one particular individual perfon in
that family, that they might not be to feek in a confufed crowd of a
whole people, made up of feveral millions of perfons, or in a whole
tribe, or even in a city filled up with feveral families j if, upon this ac-
count his birth was reftrained to one people, one tribe, one little town,
and one fingie family which was fettled there, the Jews could not but
obferve that it was God's defign to break all thofe reftriclions, and to
follow quite another method, when the Meffiah was once come.
For, in the firft place, the firft promife of the Meffiah was expreffed
in very general terms, which mentioned a common benefit to all the fons
of Adam. This promife was made before God had rejected CWspofte-
Y 4 rity,
344- Refl.xhm upon the Ch. XXII.
rity, by preferring that of Seth ; it was made before the reffri&ion was
family, and to Shem i n" Noah's family.
!n t ircumcificn had J iilinguifhed Abraham and
his pofh it} from th( t l of the family of Shem, did exprefsly promife
i the nations of the world fhould be
:. I his prom fe was made alfo befoie God had reftrained the
, of Ifaac in prejudice of Ijhmael, and then after-
w.ir.i^ to theperfon of Jacob, in the prcjudiceof Efau.
Phirdly, one fees this lame truth yet more clearly explained out of
Jo b s oracle concerning Jv.dah, Gen. xlix. wherein Jacob exprefsly
fori it- lis that the Mefliah fhould be the expectation of the nations ; that
is to fay, the comfort, the glory, the hope, and the joy of all the na-
tions of the univerfe.
As this was a capital truth, fo God propofed it by Balaam, at the
lfraelites entering into Canaan, that they might thus underftand, that all
thole difti nations which their feparation, living in Canaan from the reft
of the world, might keep up, were not always to 1 aft.
But this particular appears out of Mofes's law, which allows of
feveral forts of prolclytes, receiving fome without tying them to the ob-
iervance of aH the ceremonies in the law ; which it would never have
done, if it had been abfolutely necefiary to be a Jew before they have a
lhare in the benefits of the promife.
Secondly, it fuppofes that God was to remove that people out of Ca-
r.aan into remote countries, and to difperfe them, as it were, into the
Uttermoft parts of the world, which was done by Divine Providence,
topublifh the promife of the Mefliah, to eftablifh the belief in the
Prophets, and fo to facilitate the calling of the Gentiles to the faith.
Thirdly, he declares exprefsly, as St. Paul obferves, that he was to
call his people, that which was not his people, that he might by that
me. ins provoke the pf. ople of Ifrael to jealoufy. This notion of jealoufy,
mentioned by St. Paul, deferves to be taken notice of with very great
care, if we reflcci upon the fpirit of jealoufy which reigned amongft
the lfraelites and their neighbours.
I fhall take notice in another place of the great number of oracles of
David upon the fame fubjecl:, although he otherwife infults upon the
Moabites and Edomites, upon all cccaiions, and fhews as much avcr-
i\*u and jealoufy againfl thofe nations, as was poflible for one that
lived in a continual war with thofe pe;
i fhall alio make fome reP.exions upon Solomon's marriage with the
pri'neeffes of Tyre, of Sidon, and bf Egypt ; that i:, to fay, with the pol>c-
rity of Ham, which was united to that of Judah, to take a part w:th
them in the bleffing \ frorh whence it came to pafs, that the Song that
■was Written upon that marriage, was prcferved as a piece divinely in-
spired, and ought to be confitiered as a happy prefage of the calling of
the Gentiles to the communion of the Mefliah.
One may alio join lure the manner of Solomon's giving to Hiram's
fuh'ieets, who had helped him in the building of the temple, the country
of Chobul, which was ertclofed within Judea, although thofe people
were of the Canaanites pofrerity, upon whom Noah had particularly pro-
nounced, Cirfcd be Canaan (e).
One
(#) Gen. ix.
Ch. XXII. four laft Bocks of Mofes* . 345
One may alfo fee, that as God had permitted his people to be trans-
ported into Ckaldca and Babylon, and had railed up there Prophets
amnngft them on purpofe to acquaint the world with the glorious hopes
of the Jews, fo he caufed the books of Scripture to be tranflated into
Greek above 300 years before our Saviour's birth, not only to prevent
all fufpicion of faliehood in the minds of the Gentiles, if they were pro-
duced of a fudden after the birth of the Mefliah, but alfo to inftrucSt the
Heathens by little and little of the right which all nations had, as v/ell as
the Jews, to that promife ; that they might take their (hare in it, when-
ever they fhould be invited to it by God ; and especially to take away the
fcandar which was to follow upon God's deftroying the form of that
commonwealth by the Romans, according to DamcVs, prediction.
All thefe things, no doubt, engaged the Jews who read the books of
Afofes to make particular remarks upon them.
But they ought to have obferved three things efnecially : the fir ft was>
that although God had at fir ft ohofen their whole nation, yet he was
plcafed to difperie afterwards almoft ten parts of thirte n ; which plainly
(hewed that this choice which he had made, was only an economical
choice, and for a particular defign.
The fecond is, that although he was very fevere and punctual in exact-
ing obedience to the ceremonial fervice, yet he had fixed the meft part
of their obfervances to certain places, to certain times, and to certain
perfons : it was cafy to judge, that when God bounded them in this
manner, it was only for an economical fervice, prescribed only upon a
particular profpecl, which was one day to have ah end.
The third is, that experience convinced them that although God
feemed to have fixed his fervice to the temple, yet he fuffered the Chal-
deans to deftroy the firft, and did not refiore to the fecond the rlrft murks
of his prefence, when it was rebuilt by the order of Cyprus.
From whence it was natural to conclude, that fuch a glory as retired
by little and little from that place which God had ch fen, wasonly de-
figned to be there for a time, till God fhould extend his fervice, by call-
ing all the world to his religion, and fo making the whole univerfe his
temple, as we fee it done in our days, by the calling of the Gentiles to
the religion of our Saviour.
1
THE
THE
PREFACE.
IN my Reflexions upon the Book of Gcncjis, I have fhewed the means
God made ufe of to imprint the ideas of the Creation of the World,
and the Promife of the Mefliah, during that long tract of 2500 years,
before the children of Jfratl departed out of Egypt, and before the hif-
tory of it was penned by Afofes.
They that confider that God at firft prefcribed the law of the fabbath,
to fix the belief of the creation of the world, and that this law hath been
eonftantly obferved fmce the beginning of the world until Jlfofes, and
is ftill to this day obferved amongft the Jews, eafily apprehend, that
this fa£t of the creation could not be more inconteftably proved, or
more firmly grounded.
In like manner an attentive reflexion upon the Oracles which I have
mentioned, and which alone at firft were the foundation and hope of the
religion of the Patriarchs, and were afterwards recorded in the book of
Gcnefis, is fuffkient to perfuade any one that it was impoflible but the
memory of the Promife of the Mefliah mould be deeply engraved in the
minds of the IJracUtcs, though we mould fuppofe that the fpirit of jea-
loufy which God had raifed amongft the feveral pretenders to the exe-
cution of that great Promife, did not much contribute to preferve the
remembrance of it; as I have fhewn very carefully, that it was very ufe-
ful for that purpofe.
I have in my Reflexions afterwards proved, upon the four laft Books of
Mofcsy that God profecuted the fame defign in the laws which he gave
to the people of IJrael, as well as in the peculiar forms and regulations
of their government and religion ; the great defign of which rules, was
only that the Mefliah, at his appearance in the world, might be unquef-
tionably known.
Whoever (hall read the Reflexions which 1 have made upon this mat-
ter, will eafily perceive, that the long life of the Patriarchs was of great-
efficacy, to make fo frefh and lively an impreffion of thofe illuftrious
facts, the Creation of the World, and the Promife of the Mefliah, that
there was no need of very frequent Oracles to confirm the fame; as indeed
we find that, in the fpace of 2553 vears> onty ^ive or &x Principal Oracles
were given, which have a particular relation to the Mefliah, as I mail
fhew afterwards.
3 Now
THE PREFACE. it
Now this reflexion being once fuppofed, as the life of man was after-
wards confulerably Shortened at the time of Afofcs, fo one may judge that
this promife ought to be more frequently propofed, and more clearly ex-
plained. And we ought to fuppofe that in proportion to the delaying of
the Promife, and the ihortnefs of men's lives, which difcouraged their
hopes of ever feeing a Promife fulfilled, which their anceftors, whofe
lives were much longer, could never attain to the more distinct know-
ledge which God gave of this great object, was in order to Stir up Strong
defires in the minds of the Ifraelitcs, as well as of the (rentiles, to whom
God was afterwards to renew the ideas of it: and confequently we find
that a greater number of Oracles and Prophecies were required, from
time to time, to entertain and ftrcngthen the belief of a Promife, the
accomplishment whereof was fo considerably deferred.
And indeed this was exactly the method which God followed, the
ip irit of Prophecy having in a moft illuftrious manner been employed to
preferve the ideas of the Promife of the Meffiah, and to increafe them,
in the minds of the Jcivs, until the time of the accomplishment itfelf ;
and God hath fo exactly fet down by the Prophets, the feveral parts of
his defign, as there needs not be afterwards any difficulty in difcerning
the prolecution of that defign which he had formed at firft.
I intend, in this third part of my Reflexions on the Writings of the
Old Teftament, to explain this method which God hath followed, in,
Shewing how he hath accommodated himfelf to the ftate of the Jewi,
whom he had made the depositaries of his Oracles, znd proportioned them
to their understanding and defires.
For the more happy execution of this defign, and a clearer difcovery
of this conduct of God, which feems fomewhat ob feu red, by intermix-
ing thefe predictions concerning the Mefliah, with a great number of
events, during that feries of ages whereof we have the hiltory writtea
by his own order, I think myielf obliged fir Sir of all to explain the rea-
fons why God was pleaied to interweave the Oracles which relate to the
MeSIiah, with other matters that feem to be of a very different nature;
and then Shall lay down the rules which one ought to fjftoWj in applying
the ancient Prophecies to the Mefliah.
After thefe preliminary Reflexions, I fuppofe, that in order to a fuller
difcovery of the feries of God's defign, and a more diftindt knowledge
of the progreSs of the revelation of this matter, that 1 ought again to
refume, and to fet before the eyes of the reader, the live or fix "principal
Oracles which God hath given concerning the Meffiah, from the begin-?
ningofthe world to Afofcs, together with that Oracle which he uttered
by the mouth of that illuftrious legislator.
One will eafily judge, without my undertaking to prove it, that the
ideas of thefe Oracles were familiar to the "Jews until David, during
thefpaceof 400 years; after which, God began to difcover the fame more
particularly, in choofing David to be the perfon in whole family that
Prophecy Should be accomplished, becaufe the Meffiah was to be born of
his feed.
And fo I Shall immediately pafs on to the confideration of thofe Oracles
Which David himfelf uttered on this fubje&, which deferve i'o much the
more
ui T H E P R E F A C E.
-r^ntton, becaufe G d, who at that time changed the government
wst J id coniiderably augment the ideas which the ancients had
ng the Promiieof the Mcffiah.
j^ftly, I fhall collect under certain heads thefe Oracles which were
uttered by rhe Prophets concerning the Meifiin, forni hundred of years
before the captivity of the yews in Babylon, and foon after ; and for-
afmuch as the light concerning this matter was at that time much in-
crealeci, an ! the Oracles themfc Ives are much more clear and diflmct, as
g'Ving many more particular characters of the Mefliah, fo 1 fhall con*
tent mytelf briefly to touch upon them, in following the principal cha-
r«;ct( s which th y give concerning the Mefliah.
After which, 1 fhall hive nothing elfe to do, hut to make fome re-
flexions upon the ftate of the Jews, from the time of the lair of the Pro-
ph ts, until ihat wiierein the Cnnftians pretend that this Promife and
theic Oracles were accomplifhed in the pc rfon of our Lord Jefus Chrift.
Though the multiplicity of the things which I am to handle, and
which I intend to do with the greateft briefnefs that is poflible, might feem
to oblige me to omit the examining tie fucceflion of the hiftory of the
Jews, yet God having been pleafed to intermix the hiftorvof the Jews,
and many other tran factions, with thefe Prophecies, it obligeth me in
this thitd part to make alfo fome Reflexions upon the Hifto: ical Books of
the Old Tejlament. And indeed this will be of great ufe to prove the
truth of thefe Oracles, and the manner how God hath conflantly fol-
lowed that draught which he at firft formed to himfelf j as alfo to make
it appear, that notwithstanding the different revolutions of the yewi/b
commonwealth, he hath always continued thofe means which he chofe
at firft, to facilitate the diflinct knowledge of the Mefliah, whenever
he fhould appear.
It is very necefiary to explain this feries of the defign of God, to make
the authority of thefe Prophecies more firm and unmovable ; thofe laws,
the obfervation of which (erve to diftinguifh the family of yudah, and
that of the Mefliah, being fo many boundaries and limits, within which
God was pleafed to confine himfelf, that his conduct in this matter
might be the more eahly obfervable and known.
And forafmuch as, in my Reflexions upon the Books of Mofes, I have
begun by the firm eftablifhment of the truth of thofe Books on which
I made my reflexions, without which that work would have wanted all
its ftrength, fo I intend alfo in this part to follow the fame rule; and
accordingly I fhall at hrfl efrablifh the truth of the Hifforical and Pro-
phetical Books of the Old Tejlament : for if one ought to prove that thefe
Prophecies were well known and very famous, then it will be expected
from me that I fhould lolidly demonstrate the truth of thofe Books in
which thofe Oracles are recorded, before I can of right conclude that
the facts which are related by other authors are the accomplifhment of
thefe Prophecies.
This defign would naturally engage me to prove the truth of every
one of thefe Hooks, in ouler, particularly : but as I have not only proved
the truth of the Books of Aiofcs already, but that moreover I intend, in
my Reflexions on the Books of the New Tejlament) to demonstrate the
truth
THE PREFACE. hr
truth of them beyond all cnnteft; and befides, that the Hiftorical and
Prophetical Books of the OldTeJlament are fo eflentially linked with
thofe of Atfofcs, and thr Difciples ot Jefus Ch: ill, that it is impoffible to
acknowledge the truth of the one, without owning at the fame time the
truth of the others ; I believe I mav he difpenfed with, as to the proving
the truth of every Book of the Old Tejlament in particular; and there~
fore, becaufe I intend to be very fhort, 1 will confine myfelf to fome
general Reflexions upon thofe Books of the Old tejlament which were
writ fince Mofes^ but fuch as, I hope, will be fufticient to fatisfy an
equitable and intelligent Reader,
REFLEXIONS
REFLEXIONS
UPON THE
HISTORICAL and PROPHETICAL BOOKS
OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT,
ESTABLISH THE TRUTH
CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
CHAP. I.
That there is, in the Hijlorical Writings of the Old Testament, an
uninterrupted Series of Events, which have a natural and neeejfary
Dcpendance for more ihan Ten Ages.
THE firft general proof which I make ufe of to eftablifh the truth
of the Hiftorical Books of the Old Teftamcnt after Alofcs, may
be lawfully drawn from the uninterrupted feries of events which are
related by thofe authors who have written the Hiftory of the State and
Church of Ifratl,
We may obferve fevcral conficlerable epochas of this hiftory, which
takes in about one thouland and forty years.
The
Ch. I. Reflexions upon, (sV. 35 1
The firft part takes In all that happened after Mofes till thecftablifh-
ment of the kingdom, which is related in the books of Jojbua, Judges*
Ruth, and the firft book of Samuel.
The frcond contains the hiftory of the kings of Judab and Ifrael, till
the deftruclion of Samaria and Jernfalem.
The third contains an account of what puffed during the Jewijb
captivity, and after their re-eftablifhment.
Now, there is not one of thefe books which concern the hiftory of this
people, in one or other of thefe epocbas, which has not certain characters
of the truth of its relations, by the ncceflary connexion which it has>
either with thofe events which went before it, or with thofe which
followed it, and this by a natural and immediate dependance. This
ought to be confirmed by forne obfervations.
The book of JofJjua, which contains the conqueft and divifion of
the land of Canaan, is the execution of Mofes's defign, who brought the
people of Ifrael out of Egypt, to go and make themfelves mafters of a
country which the 'Jews pretend that God promifed to Abraham. The
divifion of this land amongft the tribes, is the title which each tribe had
to its poffeffions in it ; and this divifion fubftfted a great while very
diftincl:, and well-known by the feveral tribes of this people. There hap-
pened no considerable change, but only when the kings of Affyria car-
ried the ten tribes into captivity, after the taking of Samaria, in the three
thoufand two hundred and eighty-third year of the world ; the country
continuing in the fame ftate, under the two remaining tribes, without
any change enfuing upon their tranfportation into Babylon, as I have
obierved in the nineteenth chapter of my Reflexions upon Exodus, and
the following books.
This book has a very natural influence upon the following books, as
is manifeft from the hiftory of the alliance which the Gibconites got from
the Jews by furprife. It ferves for a foundation to all that happened for
four hundred and thirty years after, in David's reign, under whom the
commonwealth, being already changed into a monarchical government,
had in all appearance undergone a great alteration.
The book of Judges has an effential relation to the books of Mofes and
Jojbua, the molt part of the captivities of the people of Ifrael being a
confequenceof their quarrels with the nations which they had fubdued,
or with their neighbours, as the Moabites and Ammonites defcended from
Lot, who were jealous of this people that was defcended from Abraham.
There v/e may fee, for inftance, the Ifraelites upon the defenfive part,
becaufe God forbad them to fet upon the Moabites and the Ammonites ;
whereas thefe laft pretended that Ifrael had ufurped fome part of their
country.
It muft be granted, that there is nothing fo remarkable as the actions
of thefe judges, whom God raifed up to deliver his people from thofe
different captivities through which they paffed for three hundred and
fifty-fix years together. But we may find the memory of fome of them
preferved by thole public hymns which were famous throughout the
nation, and by thofe illuftrious monuments of their judicial authority
which were preferved amongft them, and which kept up a remembrance
of them amongft the Ifraelites and the neighbouring nations.
For
352 Reflexions upsn the Ch. I.
For this ought to be obferved with care, that fince the Jews could
not invent any thing upon this head, which would not be well known
by all the neighbouring nations, as the Tyrians, who kept up their own
government till Alexandtr's time, who fubdued them entirely, and the
Mcabites, whofe empire continued for fourteen ages after Lot's time,
until the deftruction of Jerufalem by Nebuchadnezzar, it was not eafy
for any fabulous relations in this matter to obtain authority.
The book of Rwb feems not to have any thing confiderable, but the
tonve'rfion of Ruth, a Moabitefs, who relied upon the hopes of the houfe
of Judah, out of which fhe had married her hufband. But we may take
notice of three things befides : i. Of the exact practice of that law which
cbliged them to marry the widow of a i elation who died without iiTue ;
2 Of their lively remembrance of the deeds of their anceftors, as of
j tdab's Lnceit, with Thamar, which was looked upon however as a foun-
t nd a pattern of bleffings ; 3. Of the lineage of David, whom
t author nprefents as deriving his pedigree from a Mcabitefs, which
net making much for the honour of a king of Ifrael, does at the fame
time confirm the truth of the relations which are contained in that
book.
The fi'ft look of Samuel contains the hiftory of Eli's and Samuel's
judicature, of the change of the government from a commonwealth to
a monarchy under Saul, of David's anointing, Saul's rejection and
death.
The fi-cond contains the hiftory of David, his victories, his defign of
building a temple, a defign which God left to S:lomon to execute, his
wars with the Ammonites, his crime with BathJJjeba, his fon Ab) atom's
infurrection againft him, and his great fucceffes againft his enemies.
There is nothing in thefe two books, which has not an exact connexion
with what went before, and what follows. One fees throughout, an
exact relation to the law of Moles; one fees throughout, monuments
fet up in feveral places, to p:cferve the memory of particular actions;
one fees a!fo, in the wars of the Ifraelites with their neighbours, a con-
frant feries of thofe old differences which were the fruits of the jealoufy
of thefe nations aga-nft the children of Ifrctel.
The books of the Kings, which the Jeivs reckoned but as one book,
contain an abridgement of Solomon's eftablifhment in the place of David,
of the glory of his empire, which was carried by David to the banks of
Euphrates, according to the ancient prophecies; of his marriage with
the king of Egypt's daughter; of the building of the temple, and his own
palace, with the help of Hiram, king of Tyre : one fees the manner of
the queen of Sheba's vifit to Solomon, of his alliances with the Moabites,
the Ammonites, the Edomiies, the Zidonians, and the Hittites ; thinking
by thefe marriages to have put an end to the old quarrels between his
people and thefe nations, who were jealous of the people of Jfrael. All
this was done in the forty years of Solomon's reign ; and as there never
was fo famous a reign in Judea, fo never was there any, of which there
are left fo many monuments, as well there, as in the neighbouring
countries.
One fees afterwards, in the fame book, the divifion of Solomon's em-
pire into two governments, that of Judah, which continued from Solo-
tnon\
Ch. T. Booh of the Old Tejlament. 353
moris death, during the reign of eighteen fuccefTors, for three hundred
eighty-fix years, to rhe taking of Jerujalem by Nebuchadnezzar; and that
of Ifrael formed by Jeroboam, which lafted two hundred fifty-four years,
under the reign of nineteen fucceflbrs, until the taking of Samaria, the
capital city of the kingdom of Ifrael.
The hiftory of the Chronicles, which was written about twenty-fix
years after that of the Kings, carries the hiftory down to Cyrus, the
founder of the empire of Per fiat who gave the Jews their liberty again.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah contain the hiftory of what pa fled
under his fucceflbrs, to the time of Artaxerxes, for almoft eighty-two
years.
It was in this interval that the deliverance happened which the Jews
received under Ejlher, wife to one of the moft powerful kings of Perfiay
the memory of which the Jews celebrate every year in all places, the
thirteenth and fourteenth days of the month Adar, (which anfwers to
our February) by virtue of Ejlher's law.
After thefe general remarks, with which I fhall content myfelf at pre-
fent, I ought to make fome reflexions, which cannot be omitted with-
out taking away a great deal of force from thofe proofs which eftablifh
the truth of this matter.
The firft is, that as thefe hiftories have a neceflary relation to the
laws of Mofes, fo they could not have been neglected by a people who,
in their religious and civil conduct, were abfolutely regulated by thofe
very laws.
The fecond is, that all the actions related in this hiftory, have pafTed
altogether in the bofom of a people, the extent of whofe country is not
twenty leagues in breadth, nor eighty in length.
The third is, that this people having obferved the law of the feventh
year, and of the firft year, or year of jubilee, (which law you have in
the twenty- fifth of Leviticus) from their firft conqueft and diviiion of the
country, forty-feven years after their coming out of Egypt, this obfer-
vation has ferved for a double cycle, to fix the remembrance of thofe
actions, and to make it pafs from one generation to another. And fo
the greatnefs of that promife which God made to Hezekiah, {Efai.
xxxvii. 30. and II. Kings xix. 29.) may eafily be underftcod ; that al-
though Sennacherib's invafion would, in all probability, lay wafte all
Judea, yet they might eat the fruits of the earth in quietnefs, the four-
teenth year of Hezekiah, and the next year they fhould eat the fruits that
would grow up of themfelves without tillage, and that on the fixtecnth.
year they fhould have liberty to till the ground, as formerly ; which
ihews, without any force upon the words, that the fifteenth year of
Hezekiab's reign was the fabbathical year, in which the Jews were for-
bidden to cultivate the ground.
The fourth is, that it appears in effect, by the feries of this whole
ftory, that things were written fo as to agree with the public records
which were extant amongft the people : this is manifeft, if we con fid :r
how often the facred penmen refer us to the hiftories and annals of thofe
kings of whom they fpeak, and of whom they only quote the principal
ilones, in fhort, in purfuing their defign, which was entirely to bring an
Vol. I. £ account
354 Rfpxions upon the Ch. IF.
account of the ftate of the religion and the government of the Jews and
Jfraelites, under one view.
Let us go on to other proofs to eftablifh this truth.
CHAP. II.
77} at there is a firicl Connexion betzveen the Sacred Hiftory, and the oldefi
Monuments which we have of Profane Hijiory.
A S there were but few very ancient writers of Profane Hiftory,
jT~^ and as we have but fmall fragments of them difperfed here ancl
there, preferved for the molt part by the care of Jofephus the Jewijh
hiftorian, and of Eufebius in his books De Praparatione Evangeticdj
fo we ought not to be furprifed, if but few of the more illuftrious
paflages and events of the Jewijh hiftory be taken notice of by Pagan
writers. The people of Ifrael being otherwife engaged, by the obferva-
tion of the Mofaic law, to keep clofe to that country where it was
eftablifhed ; this made their neighbours have kfs knowledge of their
hiftory.
However, there is enough left to fhew with how great fidelity and ex-
a£tnefs the facred writers penned the hiftory of their own nation : in
fhort, we may find amongft the Heathen hiftorians and poets (who were
their raft hiftorians), feveral relations which faew that the matters of
fa£t related by the facred writers, were well enough known to them,
and in the fame manner that they are related in thofe hiftorical books
Which were written after Mofes.
The memory of Jojhua and his conquefts was famous amongft the
Heathens : there are ancient monuments extant which prove that the
Carthaginians were a colony of the Tyrians, who efcaped from JcJJjua ;
23 alfo that the inhabitants of Leptis in Africa came originally from the
Zidonians, who forfook their country, becaufe of the miferies which
afflicted it.
The fable of the Phoenician Hercules arofe from the hiftory of
Jojhua (f) ; the overthrow of the giants, and the famous Typhon, owe
their original to the overthrow of Og the king of Bajhan, and of the
Jnakims, who were called giants (g).
The tempeft of hail fpoken of in the eleventh of Jojhua, was trans-
formed by the poets into a tempeft of ftones, with which, as they fayy
Jupiter overwhelmed the enemies of Hercules in Arim, which is exactly
the country where Jojhua fought with the children of Anak.
One finds the memorial of the adlions of Gideon preferved by Sancho*
tiiathon, zTyrian writer, who lived foon after him, and whole antiquity
is attefted by Porphyry,
One
(/) Pronp. Vandahcorum, lib. ii. c. IO.
(g) PolybiuSt Frag. cxiv. Sail"/, de Bella Jttgurthin*.
Oh. IT. Booh of the Old Tefamcnt. 355
One find?, in the manner ofjcphtha's facrificing his daughter after his
Victory over the Ammonites, the original of the facrificing of Iphigcnia ;
it being ufual with the Heathens, as Milan judicioufly obferves (A), to
attribute to their later heroes the glory of the actions of thofe who lived
long before.
We have an account of a feaft which was obferved by the Heathen
Romans in April, the time of the Jewljh harveft, in which they let loofe
foxes with torches fattened to their tails, which certainly came from the
ftory of Sampfon, and was brought into Italy by the Phoenicians (z).
One finds, in the fame hiftory of Samp/on and Delilah, the original of
the ftory of Nifus and his daughter, who cut off thofe fatal hairs upon
which the victory depended (k).
Nicolaus Damafcenus has preserved the account of the victory which
David obtained over the Syrians of Zoba, upon the banks of the Eu-
phrates, as it is defcribed by the facred writers (/).
There are monuments extant which defcribe the part which Hiram
king of Tyre had in the building of the temple of Solomon, almoft the
fame with the account which the facred authors give us of his part in
the erection of that great work.
One finds in Herodotus an account of the taking of Jerufalem by Se-
fojlris, king of Egypt, as it is defcribed in the hiftory of Rehoboam (w).
One finds the hiftory of the kings of Syria related by Nicolaus
Da?nafcenus in the fame manner as it is defcribed by the facred writers",
when they give us an account of the victories which the kings of Syria
obtained over the kings of Samaria.
One finds that the ftory of Phaeton is folely founded upon the tranfla-
tion of Elijah in a chariot of fire (»).
All that I have taken notice of, happened before the time of thefirft:
Olympiad, from whence the learned Varro has obferved that the firft:
knowledge of hiftory began amongft the Greeks ; whence alfo it is that
they call all the precedent time fabulous, the Greeks having before no-
thing but fables, into which they had turned whatever ancient hiftory
they were acquainted with.
Since that time, we do not find fewer marks of the truth of the
facred hiftories-
One fees in the Pagan writers the reign of Tiglah-Pilefer, who is the
fame wich the younger Ninus ; as alfo the deftrudion of the Syrian mo-
narchy bv his means, as it is defcribed to us in the facred hiftorians.
Nicholas Damafcenus in Jofephus, Antiq. lib, vii. cap. 6.
One fees amongft the Heathens, the fucceflion of Shalmanefer as it is
defcribed in the Scriptures (<?).
One fees the manner of Scnkacherib's conquering the meft part of the
towns
(/}) VariaHijloria, lib. v. cap. 3.
(/') Ovid. Fajiorum lib. iv. (k) Ovid. Met am. lib. viii. fab. i.
(/) Jc/eph. Antiq. lib. vii. cap. 6.
(m) Jo/eph. Antiq. lib. vii. cap. 6.
(?) II. Kings ii. (0) Capr in Euftb.
Z 2
356 Reflexions upon the Ch. II.
towns of Palejlina, of Tyre and Sidon, defcribed in Heathen writers, par-
ticularly as we have it in the Scriptures (p).
The manner of Sennacherib's fucceflion to Shalmanefer, of his defol-
iating the country of Palejiine while he carried on his victories, is de-
fcribed by the Heathens, Herodot. lib. ii. tif Berojus in Jofephus, lib. x.
c. I. exactly as the facred hiftorians relate it.
The memory of Tirhakah king of /Ethiopia, as of a great conqueror,
is preferved amongft the Heathens (q) ; for it was his coming, in fhort,
which obliged Scnrachcrib toarife from before Libna, whence he intended
to go and befiege Jerufalem.
One finds amongft the Heathens the remembrance of the manner of
the deftrucYion of all Sennacherib's army, for his blafphemies againft
God, which the Egyptians difguifed, to appropriate to themfelves. He-
rodot. lib. ii. cap. 141.
One finds the ruin of Jjhdod by king Pfammetichu% defcribed by Hea-
then authors, as we have it in the facred Scriptures. Herod, lib. ii. (r).
One finds an account of the ways by which the Medes loft the empire
of Afia under Cyaxares, after his conquefts over the AJfyrians, in the Hea-
then writers, much the fame as it is defcribed in Nahum. ii. 5.
The account of the taking ofNinive by NabopolajJ'ar, and by Ajlyoges^
is much the fame in Heathen authors (s) with the deicription of it in
Nahum, Efaiah, and EzckicL
The manner of Jcfiah's undertaking a war againft Pharaoh-Necho, king
°f P-Dft* wnen ne was overthrown in the plains of Megiddo, as it is de-
fcribed by the Heathens (/), agrees with the relation which is given of
it in the holy Scriptures.
The victories of Nebuchadnezzar over the Egyptians and the Jews,
the carrying away of the confecrated veflels of the temple, and of the
yews to Babylon (u), are defcribed by the Heathens.
The manner of the yielding up of Tyre to Nebuchadnezzar, as they
defcribe it (a-), agrees with what Ezekiel fays, chap, xxviii. 18. 19.
One finds in Heathen authors an account of the ftately buildings of
Babylonby Nebuchadnezzar (y), which is defcribed exactly in the Scrip-
tures.
One finds alfo in them (%), that the death of Pharaoh- Hoptha or
Vaphres, as they call him, happened according io Jeremiah's predictions,
chap. xl. 30.
One finds alfo the taking of Babylon, by Cyrus (a), as it is defcribed
"by the Prophet Jcremi:.h, chap. Ii. 46.
One finds alio that the death of Bc-Jhazzar (b) happened exactly as
Daniel defcribed it, chap. v.
One
(/>) Mtnander apud Jofrpb. lib. ix. cap. ult.
\o) Strabo, lib. i. & XV.
(;•) Herodot. lib. i. cap. 104. lib. ii. cap. 1 . lib, vii. cnp. 10.
(s) AleX and. Polyhijhr. ap. Syncellum.
(/) Herodot. lib. ii. («) II. Kings xxiii. 29, 30.
(*) Annal. Fbcrv.ic. ap. Jcfepb. lib. i. contra Apionem.
(v) Berof.Abydeu. (~) Herodct. lib. ii. cnp. >6$.&t 169,
\a) Herodot. lib, i. cap. 178. (£) Xcnopbon. Hijior. lib. vii.
Ch. III. Books of the Old Tejiament, 357
One fees there an account of Xerxes's great undertaking againft
Greece (c), as Daniel had foretold it, chap. xi.
Here then is an agreement which is perfect enough in fevcral articles,
to which we might add a greater number, if we had a greater number
of Pagan hiftorians : but as we cannot find, after the reign of Ariaxerxes
Longirnanus, hiftories amongft the Jews of equal authority with thole
which were written by and after Mofes, as Jofephus the Jewijh hiftorian
obferves, fo we cannot compare the Jewijh and Pagan hiftories together
afterwards, in that form we have done hitherto.
But it is eafy to obferve four things, which are very considerable,
upon this head.
I. That the credit of the facred hiftorians may be grounded upon the
great number of remarks we have made already, or elfe nothing will ever
eftablifh it. For how can we conceive that all forts of hiftorians, of all
rations and all ages, Babylonians, Ajfyrians, Tyrians, Egyptians, and
Greeks, could agree fo exactly with the Jews, in thofe facts they relate,
if the Jewijh authors had not exactly followed the rules of truth ?
II. That as the prophecies of Zecbariab and Daniel defcribe, with an
almoft incredible exactnefs, the confiderable events which happened in
the countries near to Judea, and in Judea itfelf, in a time which was
not expired until the facred writers had given over writing amongft the
Jews, fo there was need of almoft nothing elfe, but to look over the books
of Daniel, to fee what happened from day to day. And here we may
obferve, that the reafon why Porphyry thought the book of Daniel was
forged after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, was, becaufe this book
feemed to him to be rather a hiftory than a prediction ; which he juftified,
in making a fort of commentary upon this prophecy, by comparing
with it the Pagan hiftorians which were then extant.
III. That as the Jtwijh commonwealth came under the power of the
Greeks, who were matters of learning, and of the art of writing hiftories,
fo there is little need of any other witneffes befide the Greek authors, as
Jofephus demonftrates, in effect, by proving that the Greeks were well
enough acquainted with the affairs of the Jewijh nation.
IV. That we do really find, after the time of Artaxerxes, a very great
part of the Jewijh hiftory compofed by the care of fome particular men,
with fufficitnt exactnefs, though it be not of equal authority with the
"facred writers.
CHAP. III.
TJiat there is an uninterrupted Series of Events foretold by the facred Oracles,
of which we may fee a very great Number accomplished in every Age,
AS we may very reafonably fay, that all the hiftory of the people of
Jfrael has a very exact dependance upon the writings of that fa-
mous legiflator 5 fo we may alfo obferve, that there a:e fcarce any con-
Z 3 iidcrable
(0 Herod, lib, vii. cap, 5, 6.
35.8 Reflexion upon the Ch. IIJ.
fiderable events which make up the body of this hiflory, which do not
deferve a particular remark, either as a fulfilling of Mofes's prophecies,
or of thofe other Prophets whom God railed up ; fi r him to reform the
errors of that nation. And it is a very confiderab'.e thing, that in all the
feries of events foretold by the Prophets, there was not one generation
amongft all the offspring of the people, but what faw the accomplifh-
ment of feveral of thofe oracles. A little attention and care in com-
paring the chronology of the oracles with that of the events, will fuffi-
ciently juftify what 1 fay. I mall content myfelf with obferving their
different orders, which will fatisfy a judicious reader, fince my defigri
does not engage me neceflarily to do a thing which would carry me toQ
far, and which may be done with little application.
We may confider four forts of oracles : i. thofe which have refpect
to particular facts nigh at hand ; 2. thofe which have refpect to par-
ticular fa£ts, but at a greater diftance; 3. thofe which have refpect to
facts which belong to the whole Jewijh nation ; 4. thofe which have
refpect to facts which belong to foreign nations, either bordering upon
Palejlina, or further from it. Now there is nothing fo exactly fulfilled,
as thofe four forts of oracles. /
You have, for particular facts, which were nigh at hand, and fore-
told by the Prophets, the oracle of Mofes concerning the advancement
of Joflma, and the conqueft of Pale/line, which happened foon after.
^ ( u have Deborah's oracle of the victory prom i fed to Barak.
You have Samuel's oracle of the advancement and rejection of Saul.
You have an oracle of the fame Samuel, of the advancement of
David.
You have-Nathan's oracle concerning Jhfalom's revolt.
You have Ahi'jah's oracle concerning the advancement of Jeroboam,
and ihe divifion of Solc'mons kingdom into ten tribes, and into two tribes,
whereof the kfTer part was to continue in the poffeflion of Solomom's
heiis.
You hzvt Ahij..ih's prediction of the death of Jeroboam's fon.
You have a prediction of the advancement of Jehu in the place of
Jchoram king of If> ael.
You have Elijah's prediction of the exemplary punifhment of Ahc.b
and Jezab'el.
You have the prediction of Jeboiakim's death made by Jeremiah,
chap. xxii. 18, 19. and chap, xxxvi. 30. which happened ten years
after.
You have the prediction of Jechoniah's miferies made by Jeremiah,
chap. xxii. 3.
You have Jeremiah's prediction of the death of the falfe Prophet
Ananiab, but feven months before it happened.
You have an e;:prefs defignation of Zsrobalel to conclude the re-
building of the temple, made by Zechariah, chap. iv. 9. and which was
comp eted.in four years.
It is therefore fully evident, that the prediction of particular facts,
which were to happen in a very fhort time, ferved to eftablifh the au-
thority of the Prophets. And in effect one fees that they proceeded
upon
Ch. Ilf. Books of the Old TeJlarnenU 359
upon the authority which thofe predictions of nearer events gave them, *
to foretell other particular events at a greater difrance.
So you fee that Mcfes foretold after a fort, after Jacob, the manner
how the land of Canaan was to be divided, though the thing was to be
done by lot.
You fee the fame Mofes foretelling the feveral captivities which
the people of Ifrael fuffered after the conqueir, and the method of God's
raifing up feveral judges, to the number of fourteen, to bring them out
of thofe calamities.
You fee the fame Mofes foretelling that the temple fhould be built in
the tribe oi Benjamin, though it was the leaf!.
You have Jcjhua's prediction of the way how the rebuilder of Jericho
fhould be exemplarily punifhed; which was accomplifhed in Ahab^s
time, (I. Kings xvi. 34.) about 570 years after this prophetical impreca-
tion of Jojhua.
You have the prediction of a Prophet, who was contemporary to Je-
roboam, about the birth of Jofiah, which was not till 350 years after,
(I. Kings xiii.) and of the manner of his deftroying the altar which Je-
roboam built.
One fees a prediction of the overthrow of the kingdom of Samaria,
within 65 years, by Ifaiah, in the reign of Jotham.
One fees the deftruction of Jerufalem by Nebuchadnezzar, foretold by
feveral of the Prophets.
One fees the taking of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, foretold by Ifaiah,
chap, xxiii. 15, 17.
One fees the promife of its re-eftablifhment, feventy years after its
deftruction.
One fees the promife of Cyrus's birth made by Ifaiah, chap, xiiv, 45.
as of one that fhould reftore liberty to the Jews, and give them oppor-
tunities of rebuilding their temple at Jerufalem.
One fees the prediction of the manner how Antiochus Epiphanes would
treat the Jews in his life time, and how he fhould be punifhed for his
cruelties and facrileges.
One fees the prediction of the courage of the Maccabees, who fhould
oppofe the tyranny of that prince, and purify anew the Divine worfhip.
So that it is plain, that the foretelling of thefe particular facts, which
were at fo great a difrance, revived the memory of thefe Prophets
amongft the Jews in every age, and made them read them with a Angu-
lar attention.
One ought alfo to make the fame reflexion upon thofe oracles which
have refpect to the particular events of the irate of the Jews, and its con-
tinuance until the time of the Mefliah, after which the Prophets forecel
its ruin and deft-ruction without remedy.
In fhort, one may fay, that there was no revolution, never fo little con-
fiderable, of which we do not find very many and very particular pre-
dictions foretold by feveral Prophets, upon very different occafions, and
particular circumtrances.
One fees in the books of Mofes exact defcriptions of the pilgrimages
of Abraham* pofterity, of their continuance in Egypt, of the oppreffion
they were there to undergo, of their prodigious increafe, of their rob-
Z 4 bing
3^0 Reflexions upon the Ch. III.
bingthe Egyptians at their departure, of their methods in conquering the
land of Canaan, of the way how kings fhould arife from Abraham ; which
was accomplifhed in the IJhmadites and Edomites, and at laft in the Ij-
raelites.
One fees exprefs predictions of the feveral judges whom God fhould
raife up to the people of Ifrael.
One fees an exprefs prediction of the advancement of the tribe of Judab
to the kingdom.
One fees a prediction of the future fubjection of the Edomites to the
power of the kings of Judah, and of their conquering of the countries
which lie along the banks of Euphrates, which was fulfilled in David's
time.
One fees an exprefs divifion of that kingdom into two very unequal
parts.
One fees great numbers of predictions concerning the ftate of the kings
of Judab and Ifrael : for infrance, you have an oracle concerning the
defrruction of Jehus family in the fourth generation (d).
The defrruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes is exprefsly foretold,
and the term is very exactly let down.
The ruin of Jerufalem, and of his kings, is alfo exprefsly foretold.
The time of tne captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and
Their re-eftabjifhment by Cyrus after feventy years, are alfo very
diftinctly foretold.
The dtfolationof Judea under the empire of Alexander's fuccefibrs, is
foretold very exactly.
Their re-eftablifhment after thefe defolations, and the way by which
they were to be defended by the Maccabees, who fhould become their
kings, is likewife foretold.
In fhort, one fees exprefs predictions of the ruin of Jerusalem, and of
the whole nation under the Roman empire, after the coming of the
Mefiiah.
As the people of Ifrael had always great quarels with the neighbour-
ing nations, fo one finds that amonglt the oracles which particularly
regard the ftate of the Jews, the Prophets have interwoven a great num-
ber which concern thofe ftrangc people, with relation to thofe differences
which were kept up between the people of Ifrael and them.
So one fees the Egyptians and the Ganaanites punifhed, in the execution
of the oracles pronounced againfr, the descendants of Cham.
One fees the prediction of the ruin of Bcnhadad, king of Syria, and
of his houfe, foretold to the tenth generation.
One fees the prediction of the ruin of Egypt and Tyre, which happened
under Nebuchadnezzar .
One fees the prediction of the ruin of the Moabites, which was
under the fame Nebuchadnezzar, after that kingdom had fublifted almoft
fourteen ages from its fir ft foundation.
One fees frequent oracles concerning the ruin of Nineveh, and its
empire.
One fees oracles concerning the ruin of Babylon, which happened
under Cyrus,
One
(<0 II. Kings x. 30.
Ch. IIT. BoohoftheOldTcJlament. 361
One fees oracles of the deftruction of the Perfwn empire by Alexander.
One fees oracles concerning the manner of this prince's conquering
the greateft part of the world, and of his leaving his empire divided into
four kingdoms.
One fees frequent oracles concerning the ftate of the empire of the
Seleucida, and the PtoUmees, who had particular quarrels with the
JeiuiJJ) commonwealth.
One fees the alliances which were to be between the two kingdoms
foretold, and thefmall fuccefs which fhould arife thence in terminating
their differences.
One fees predictions of the treatment which the Jews fhould meet
with in thofe kingdoms.
One fees a prediction of the retreat which Egypt was to give to the
Jews, and of the temple they were to build there.
One fees an exact prediction of the manner of the profanation of the
temple by Antiocbus Epipbanes, for three years together.
One fees the prediction of the ruin of thefe two governments by the
arms of the Roman empire.
It is very natural to make fome reflexions upen fuch a various multi-
tude of oracles.
I. That there are no books in the world which are formed like thofe
Which we find in the hands of the Jews.
One finds there a hiftory exactly purfued, and in a natural dependance,
from the beginning of the world, for 3500 years.
One finds there a feries of oracles which foretell all forts of events, fo
infeparably united with the hiftory, that it is impoflible to find by what
means the prophecies could have been fo brought to fupport the hiftory,
and the hiftory to fupport the authority of the prophecies.
One finds oracles fo clear, and fo particular, efpecially in the book of
Daniel, that Porphyry, a mortal enemy to the Chriftians, was forced to
alTert, that the book of Daniel was forged after Antiocbus Epipbanes's time :
a ridiculous imagination ! for this prophecy was translated into Greek
more than one hundred years before, and was in the hands, not only of
the Jews, but of the Egyptians alio, mortal enemies to the whole JewiJ/j
nation.
This alfo is very furprifing, that fince the Jews, after their difperfion,
preferve thefe hiftories, wherever they are, as the accomplifhments of
the oracles, and thefe oracles as predictions of thofe events of which
their hiftory is very full, they fhould never think of propofing to us any
books of a like nature, confidering that now, for one and twenty ages,
they have had no parallel authors, who have both writ hiftory, and pro-
nounced oracles.
II. But, as thefe reflexions lead us on to others, fo we ought to enter
upon them, by confidering what the moft unreafonable obftinacy can
oppofe to the authority of the iliftorical and Prophetical- Books of
Scripture.
CHAP. IV.
3$ 2 Reflexions upon the Ch. IV.
CHAP. IV.
That how common foever Oracles may have been amongfl the Pagans, yet
nothing amongjl them can juf.ly be compared with thofc which are found
among ft the "jews.
ONE of the greateft objections which can in all probability be
made againft this furprifing feries of Oracles, which are found
in the books of the Old Teftament, is taken from that great number
of Oracles which are found amongft the Pagans. , This objection
xkferves to be confuiered, becaufe it will more clearly demonftrate the
authority of the Prophetical books which are in the hands of the
yews.
I confefs there have been falfe prophets: and indeed, fince God has
given us marks to diftinguifh them from true ones, which may be feen
in the books of Mofes, it cannot be denied but there have been fome falfe
prophets; and that, moreover, the hiftory of the Prophets difcovering
to us impoftors frequently, we may freely acknowledge, that amongft.
the Pagans, and the people bordering upon Judea, there have been men
who have boafted of predictions of things to come, as well as amongft
the yews.
I confefs alfo, that fome Heathen writers fpeak of certain oracles,
which in all appearance are very well circumftantiated, and of which
they relate a very exact accomplishment.
But feveral things ought to be oblerved upon this argument, which
dtferve an attentive consideration.
I. We fee that their molt celebrated things have been only an imi-
tation of what was done amongft the Jews. The Egyptians imitated the
Urim and the Thummim of the Jewijh high prieft ; and they appro-
priated to him the right of giving oracles : and fo we fee they are given
by a voice from heaven, which the Jeivs favv was granted to their Pro-
phets. We may fee it in the hiftory of Socrates^ life, and in Jpuleius,
P- 339*
II. We fee that the fame Pagan hiftorians take notice that very many,
even the greateft part of their oracles, were very ambiguous and falie.
The philofophers, and Tully particularly, openly laughed at them
(Lib.l.U. de Divinatione). They thought it a ridiculous thing, that
Jlpollo Delphicus, the god of poetry, fhould give his anfwers in very bad
verfe, and at laft be reduced to profe. Eujebius quotes a difcourfe of
Oenon.aus, a Greek philofopher, who wrote againft oracles, to decry
them as impoftures.
ill. We fte that thofe oracles which had acquired the greateft repu-
tation by their accomplishment, were borrowed from the Prophets of the
fynagogues. We have an iiiuftrious example in the birth of Cyrus,
which the Prophet Ifaiah had foretold, about the year of the world 3292,
and concerning which they pretend to fhew prophecies of Nebuchadnez-
zar and Crafts, about the year 34.92 (<) ; which fhews, thatif the thing
\yas
{/) Alydenus. Hercdot, lib. i. cap. 55. Si 91.
Ch. IV; Books of the Ola Tejlament. 363
was really known to them, they could not have known it but by the
prophetical writings which were amongft the fetes, and which could
not have been concealed from them, becaufe the Jtws read them with
care, to comfort themfelves under that captivity to which they were
reduced by Nebuchadnezzar.
IV. It is in effect, proved by examining their oracles, moil of which
were either falfe or f -rged. This Eufcbiv.s has clearly proved, [de Pra-
■bar. Evangelicd, lib. ix. cap. 5.] The proverb of the Sibyl's or Delphic
prieftefs's favouring of Philip, is commonly known. It was eafy for
thefe Heathen princes to biafs their people with fuch predictions. But
what Eufebius fays (/), puts the thing beyond all quefrion ; for he ex-
prefsly fhews, that when the priefts were put to the rack, they con felled
the whole contrivance of thofe oracles, which they pronounced to abufe
the credulity of the people.
We oua;ht to obferve, that we cannot find great numbers of oracles
upon the fame fubje£r. ; whereas one fees that the Prophets followed (as
it were) Mofes's model of the (rate of the commonwealth of the Jezvs,
and that they frequently concur in foretelling the fame fadts from one
generation to another.
VI. We ought to remember that thefe oracles were not kept within
the limits of one fingle ftate or nation.
VII. It may be faid that they were not publicly known, having been
only propofed in private places, before a very few, and, in fhort, that
they were not actually known to the moft part of the neighbouring peor
pie ; whereas one fees that the Jewijh Prophets gave their oracles in the
moil folemn affemblies ; and when they were committed to writing, they
were known to all thofe who had any commerce with that nation. So
that Ijaiah's prophecies were queftionlefs known to Nebuchadnezzar and
Cyrus, who looked upon himfelf as defigned by God to reftore their
liberty to the yews. We may make the fame judgment of the book of
JDaniel, which was known to Alexander without all queftion, as one may
collect, from the favourable reception the Jeivs found from him.
VIII. We ought to obferve, that thefe pretended oracles were given,
for the moft part, in favour of thofe princes who could fatisfy the gree-
dinefs of the priefts. Whereas the Prophets among the Jews lived in
the moil difinterefted manner in the world, and ufually pronounced no-
thing but reproaches and menaces of cruel calamities to thofe princes
who had the government in their hands. Their miniftry confided in a
courageous oppofition to the corruptions in their laws and their reli-
gi. n, and in cenfuring their princes and governors with a fingular in-
trepidity ; and, indeed, we fee that moft of them met with the punish-
ment of their boldnefs, and made trial of the moft cruel tortures.
IX. LaftofaJl, we ought to take notice, that as the oracles which
are mentioned in Heathen authors, were only of fadf.s of fmall importance
to thofe people amongft whom it is faid that they were pronounced, fo
we do not find that they thought themfelves much concerned in their
prefervation ; whereas one fees that the Jcwijh nation were fo perfuaded
of the truth of thofe oracles with which they were entrusted, that
nothing to this very day could ever oblige them to discontinue the read-
ing
{/) De Praparat* Evangel. Lib. iv. initio.
364 Reflexions on the Ch. V.
ing of them, whatever difputes they may otherwife have with the Chrif-
tians, who make ufe of them to eftaDlifh their pretentions, notwith-
standing all the claims of the fynagogue.
When this is laid down, it would feem as if I might reafonably con-
clude, that the wonderful variety of oracles which are to be found
amongft the Jews, cannot be at all weakened by thofe oracles of which
We find fo frequent mention in Pagan writers.
But we ought to go further, in explaining two things, which will per-
fectly clear this matter; one is, that the Hiitorical and Prophetical Books
of the Old Teftament after Mofes, can be no forgeries ; the other is,
that in truth, thofe Oracles which we find inferted in thofe books,
could not poflibly have been forged after their completion.
CHAP. V.
TJ;at the Booh in which v:e may find thefe Oracles, were never forged.
I HAVE obferved formerly, that it is abfolutely necefTary that the
authority of thofe Books in which thefe Oracles are inferted, be
eflablifhed, before we can build upon the authority of the Oracles.
And, indeed, if we cannot clearly fhew that thefe Books were written,
and publicly known, before the things happened which are faid tfc be
accomplifhments of thofe preceding Oracles, it would be natural to
call in queftion the authority of thefe Oracles. But it is very eafy to
fatisfy an equitable reader herein, and to eitallifh in general, or
feverally, the eiirtence of thefe prophetical writings, before the times in
which thofe facts happened, which we propofe as the accomplifhment of
thofe prophecies.
1 (ball make ufe of two forts of reflexions to eflablifh my propofition.
The firft confifls in general confiderations upon the books themfelves :
the fecond has refpect to particular facts, which are uncontefted, and
whence the fame truth very naturally refults.
I. We ought to obferve, that whereas, in Gene/is, Mops makes ufe of
110 other epecha to fix the time of any event, but the years of the life of
fome famous Patriarch : as, for initance, he fixes the flood to the 6co
year of Noah's age ; in Exodus and Numbers (g) he ufes the time of their
coming cut of Egypt for his epocha ; in the books of the following
authors, the years from their departure out of Egypt were carefully fet
down till the fourth year of king Solomon's reign, which was 480 years
after their departure. This was a character to fix the time of all thofe
who lived after that epocha.
II. The building of the temple began a new epocha amongft the Jews,
as appears from II. Chron. viii. 1. though they began after that time to
rtckon by the years of the kings of Judab and Ijracl, as appears by the
books
(^) Exod. xix. Numb, xxxiii. 3S.
3
Ch. V. Books of the Old Tejlament. 365
books of the firft Prophets j which is a character fufficiently certain,
to diftinguiih thofe who lived after Sohmon, with the time when they
lived.
III. It is plain that the Babylon'ijh captivity, and afterwards their fub-
jedlion to the Per fan empire, obliged them to fix their events, and to
date their prophecies, by the vears of the governments of thofe foreign
kings. [See Daniel, Ezekiel, Zccbarlab, and Haggai.~\ So the author
of the book of Maccabees refers to the years of the Scleucidce. Now,
that we may the better perceive the force of this obfervation, we muft
remember three things. 1. That the authors who lived after the carry-
ing away of the Jam into Babylon, make ufe of fome Cbaldee terms,
which are not to be found in the foregoing prophets ; for we may fee
in the books of Hagga'i, Zechariab, and Malacbi, the fame ftyle with
Ezra, Nebemiahy and Daniel [b). 2. The authors of thefe books give
names to the months, which they had not before the captivity. The
Jews onlv called their months, firft, and fecond, &c and fo they gave
names which were unheard of before (/). 3. The authors of thefe pro-
phecies take particular notice of any newly-inftituted fafts ; thus we fee
that the Prophet Haggai mentioned thofe fafts of which we have nothing
in the law, but which were inftituted during the captivity.
We muft blind ourfelves of purpofe, to conceive that any impoftor
could forge books which have fo exact a relation, and fuch certain cha-
racleriftics, to fix them to the time in which every author lived, and to
the circumftances wherein he wrote. We muft of necefiity grant, that,
before fuch an impoftor could bring about fuch a defign, he muft have
made himfelf mafter of the whole profane hiftory, to fix fo exactly the
hiftory of the "Jew'ijh nation, and of thofe oracles which have been given
in circumftances which are unintelligible without the help of profane
hiftories of different nations.
I come now to facts which cannot be contefted. It is fufficient that
thofe fadls be acknowledged as true, to eftablifh. in general the truth of
thofe books whereof we teach.
I. It cannot be denied, that the Jews preferve thefe oracles to this
day with great fidelity.
II. It cannot be denied, that they are in the hands of Chriftians, who
preferve them, as well as thtjews, fince they have been feparated from
them; that is, for almoft feven teen ages.
III. It cannot be denied, that thefe prophecies have been exactly read
by the Jews, becaufe of thofe oracles upon which they believe, to this
day, that the* whole happinefs of their nation is founded.
IV. It cannot be denied, that the Jews have read thefe books exactly,
to refute the Difciples of Jefus Chrift, who have pretended, from the firft
age of their appearing, that Jefus Chrift is the Mefiiah marked out by
thefe oracles. In Ihort, whereas the Chriftians pretend to prove by the
accomplishment of the ancient oracles, that Jefus Chrift was the Mcfliah;
it is known that the Jews endeavour to this day to wreft the fenfe of
thefe oracles, and toihevv that there are many things which are not lite-
rally
(b) Ezech.xl. r. Daniel x. Zach. i. Hagg. i,
(1) Talm. RoJ'cb. Eajanab. c. i.
^66 Reflexions upon the Ch. V.
rally accomplifned, and which by confequence cannot be applied to
Jefus Chrift.
V. It cannot be denied, that moft of the controverfies of the Jews
with the Chriftians, only regard the application of the text of the pro-
phetical authors. The Chriftians explain them in amyftical ienle; the
yews maintain that they ought to be explained literally.
VI. It cannot be denied that, about 300 years before the birth of our
Saviour, the prophetical boks were tranflated, and put into the hands of
the Egyptians, having been carried to, and tranflated at Alexandria, by a
public order of the whole nation, for the fatisfaCtion of a kingofii£y/>f.
The hiftory of that verfion which put thofe facred books into the hands
of the Greeks, and the Jews who dwelt in Egypt, is the moft famous thing
in the world, and which made thofe books perfectly known.
Here we have now thefe books in Hebrew, and in Greek ; that is to
fay, in the primitive language of the Jews, and the vulgar language of
the empire which Alexander founded.
It is known, that from that time the Chriftians took care to make
great numbers of tranflations into all the vulgar tongues, after the preach-
ing of the gofpel ; and that they prefcrved thofe ancient books as the firft
elements of their religion.
Now it will be fuffieient to acknowledge thofe truths, to confider,
That thofe oracles were true which foretold things which happened
almoft four ages after their prediction. Thus, for inftance, the deftruc-
tion of Jerufalem, the overthrow of the Jewijb ftate, the calling of
the Gentiles to the fervice of the God of Ijrael, the deftruclion of the
Syrian and Egyptian monarchies, are all contained in the books of Daniel,
Haggai, Zechariab, and Malachi.
Now there is not more difficulty to conceive that fuch authors as
Ifaiah, Amos, Joel, fhould have foretold the fame thing eight or nine hun-
dred years before, than there is to believe that they were foretold by thofe
who lived but little 2bove four ages before they actually came to pafs.
There is therefore no difficulty in conceiving that thefe ancient oracles
were propofed as we fee them, and in thofe times to which we find them
fixed.
But we ought to go further into this matter, and to eftablifh the fame
thing by the confederation of the things themfelvcs.
1 confefs that we might have a fufpicion of thofe oracles which are not
related upon the faith of a public volume; as, for inftance, thofe of
Elijah. Eli/ha, and Uriah the fon of Shemaiah, who feem never to have
publifhed any thing.
But here we are to obfervc, 1. That ufually the authors who publifh
the oracles, are not the fame with thofe who tell us of their accomplifh-
ment ; 2. That the oracles of which we now fpeak were upon fubjecls
perfedtly known, and upon very illuftrious exigencies. What more
illuftrious than the deftruction of Ahab\ family, foretold by Elijah?
What more extraordinary than the manner oi jczabePs death, foretold
by the fame prophet ?
In fhort, we ought to take notice, I. That thefe oracles were written
for the moft part in complete volumes : we have fixteen prophets fuffi-
cientlydiftinguifhed by their proper volumes.
II. Each
Ch. VT. Books of the OldTeJIament. 367
II. Each of thefe authors has a very different character from the reft;
fo that fome, as Daniel, for inftance, write in a peculiar language, one
part of his book being in Chaldcc.
III. Every one has fome relation to the reft ; fo thofe who lived to-
gether often treat of the fame things : fo IJaiah, for inftance, Joel, Amosy
Hofca, But tjiey had feparate ideas, and particular oracles, and a turn
which perfectly diftinguifh.es them one from another.
IV. One needs only read their works, to find that they wrote in dif-
ferent places. Amos was of Judah, and went to prophefy in Ifracl ; that
appears plainly. Ezeliel and Daniel prophefied in Chaldca; that is feea
by reading their works.
V. There is a natural dependance between the books of Mojes and
thofe of the prophets in general ; for the prophets were continually re-
proaching the kings and people with the crimes which they committed
againft the law of God propofed by Alofes.
VI. There is a natural dependance between the writings of the for-
mer and of the latter prophets. So Jeremiah is quoted by Daniel (£),
as foretelling the time when the defolations of Jcrufalcm were to have an
end : this he propofes, not as if he had learnt it by a revelation, but as
a thing which he had found out by an attentive examination of the pro-
phecy of Jeremiah.
VII. There is an exa£t connexion of thefe oracles with the hiftory of
the time, which is often interwoven with the prophecies. One fees it
in the books of Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel ; the other hiftorical books
not being altogether fo particular as thefe prophetical books are.
VIII. In fhort, one fees that thefe books are interwoven with oracles
concerning ancient events, and people which have now no exiftence j fo
that hinders us from fufpecting any forgery.
I fhall not repeat here the common arguments which eftablifh the
credit of thefe books ; I brought in moft of them, when I eftablifhed the
authority of the books of Mofes. Ifhall only make fome reflexions here,
to eftablifh the fame truth.
CHAP. VI.
That the Manner of writing the Prophetical Booh of the Old Taj} anient,
Jhews that thofe Oracles could not have been forged after their Completion.
I HAVE feveral things to take notice of, to make this truth more
fenfible. The firft is taken from the neceflary connexion of all the
parts of the hiftory of the Old Teftament, the truth of which I have
proved by feveral characters. This hiftory is exaclly written by feveral
authors : now the hiftory of the prophets, and of their oracles, is
fo
[&) Dan. ix. 2.
368 Reflexions upon the Ch. VI.
fo exactly framed into the hiftory, that it is impoflible to take it out,
without confounding the whole.
The books of Samuel, which were written by Samuel, by Nathan, and
by Gad, as appears by I. Chron. xxix. 29. contain the hiftory from the
year of the world 2888 to the year 2987.
The books of the Kings contain the hiftory of the kings, and of the
prophets, from the year 2989 to the year 3442.
The books of the Chronicles recapitulate the hiftory, from the begin-
ning of the world to the year 3468.
Ezra writ his hiftory from the year 3468 to the year 3538.
Nchemiah continued it from the year 3550 to the year 3563.
Here is therefore, on the one fide, an uninterrupted fenes of hiftory ;
and on the other fide, a continued fucceflion of prophecies.
David, who began to reign in the year 2950, with feveral other pro-
phets of that time, writ the moft part of the Pfalms, which are full of
oracles, and which were fung by the people, as a part of the divine fer-
vice.
lfaiah began his prophecy in 3246, and died in the year 3306. Hofca,
Micah, and Nahum, were contemporary with him.
Jeremiah began his prophecy in the year 3375, and lived at the fame
time with Zephaniah.
Daniel was carried into Babylon in 3401, and prophefied until 3470.
iTz^zV/ prophefied at Babylon in 3509.
Haggai and Zechariah prophefied in 3590, foon after Ezra, in the
time of Nehemiah.
Malachi feems to have lived until the year 3589.
Can we therefore in the leaft imagine that a* hiftory fhould be fo in-
termixed with prophecies and oracles, without conceiving at the fame
time the truth of both by an invincible neceflity ?
But we may make a fecond reflexion hereupon.
There are three general characters which diltmguifh prophets \ery
fenfibly from the generality of authors.
I. They were public cenfors : let us but read the hiftory of Ifaiah's
conduct, who called all the heads of the people, rulers of Sodom j or that
of Jeremiah, chap, xxxvi, or of any other of the prophets in general.
Jl. They were comforters of the people, when they had brought them
to repentance by their preaching. There are as many inftances of this,
as there are prophets.
III. They foretold remarkable occurrences, happy or unfortunate,
long before there was any probability that they fhould happen.
It is impoflible to conlider thefe characters, without feeing that the
ftate of affairs was that which gave a foundation for their fermons: fo
that one muft of nectflity have framed their hiftory of new, to give
ground for a forgery. This change in the ftyle of the prophets, follows
the circumftances of the Jcwijh ftate exactly. All that lfaiah or Jere-
miah fay ,\v\\\ hold no longer than whilft you fuppoie the ftate of the Jews
to be as corrupt as the hiftory of that time rcprefents it. But if you
fuppofe it to be as the hiftory does diftinctly explain it, nothing can be
imagined more forcible than their fermons 3 for as they joined oracles
with
CH. VI. Booh of the Old TtftamenU 369
with promifcs in their thundering fermons, fo one fees that they cannot
be parted.
One may make another reflexion upon this matter, by fhewin» that
thefe oracles and thefe books were fo famous amongft the Jews, that no
'forgery can be fuppofed.
The time:! in which they were writ, are a great proof, for they ap-
peared upon very remarkable occafions.
One may rank the prophets into four orders, according to the feveral
times in which they appeared : David, and the prophets of his time ;
thofe who lived before the Babylonijh captivity ; as Jonah, Hafca, Joely
Amos, Obadiah, Ifaiah, Mkah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jere-
miah.
Thofe who prophefied during the captivity ; Jeremiah, Ezekicl, and
Daniel.
Thofe who lived after their return from Babylon ; Haggai, Zecbariah,
and Malach'u
Now we have an equal affurance of all thefe prophets, that they were
famous.
Who can deny the oracles of David to have been famous, when they
were preferved amongft their public hymns ?
One fees that Micah's prediction faved Jeremiah, whom they would
have condemned for prophefying the ruin of the temple under Jeboia-
kirn, when Micah had prophefied the fame thing under Hezekiah, that
is to fay, about one hundred and twenty years before this prediction of
Jeremiah: here is an event which allures, us without affectation, that
this prophecy was very well known. Were not therefore the other pro-
phecies, which were in the hands of the Jews, very well known by the
whole nation ?
The other prophets lived in very remarkable times : Ifaiah under
Jotham, Ahaz, and Manaffeh, impious princes ; the laft of which put
him to a cruel death, for the freedom of his cenfures and predictions. ;
There was, in the time of every prophet, a great number of circum-
stances which may be enlarged upon, and which will further prove that
their works muft of neceffity have been very public, and very famous
amongft the Jews.
We muft not here neglect what does more particularly regard theper-
fons of the prophets.
I. Some of them were priefts, that is to fay, public minifters of their
religion. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were of that number : this may be ob-
ferved in reading of their works, and in obferving the nature of their
revelations, which were for the moft part accommodated by God to
thofe ideas about which the prophets were moft employed.
II. Some were very illuftrious by their birth : thus David, for in-
ftance, was king of Ifrael, Ifaiah was a prince of the blood, and Daniel
was one of the princes of Judah ; which may be eafily found out by
confidering the majefty of their ftyle,and greatnefs of their cxpreffions.
III. Some were very contemptible by their employment, and by their
birth : fo Amos, for inftance, and thofe other prophets whofe father is
Vol. I. A a barely
370 Reflexions upon the Ch. VI.
barely named, without joining to it any honourable title, if the Jews
obfervation has any ftrength.
Now, it is well known, that though the gift of propecy made him
who had it fufficiently famous, yet the character of the perfon often
made the prophecy famous. Sometimes indeed the meannefs of the per-
fon, as in y/ff/M, made the work to be more regarded, every body taking
oecafion, from the ancient profeflion of the prophet, to coniider the pro-
phecies which he publifhed with more attention.
One ought to obferve with care, that thofe prophets whofe writings
are preferved, as well as thofe who did not write, were continually ftruck
at by falfe prophets, who oppofed them with great heat. Since then we
have no prophecies preferved but of thofe whofe predictions were accom-
plifhed, the event iuftifyingthe truth of their predictions, with regard
to particular fads near the time which they had foretold to eftablifh
their authority; whereas the predictions of others, wanting this cha-
racter, were neglected, and at laft abfolutely loft ; it appears plainly,
that thofe which remain were things of the greateft reputation among
the Jews.
Befides, I may add, that one needs only read their books, to fee that
they not only foretold obfeure things, or what particularly concerned
their ftate, but alfo things of a more fplcndid nature, the overthrow of
kingdoms, of cities, the deftruction of whole nations, the deftruction
of their own citv, with its re-eftablifhment ; matters which would ren-
der their books very illuftrious, and which would cauletbem to be read,
not only by the Jewsy but alfo by the neighbour nations, the Ammonites^
Moahltes^ Ajjyrians, Pe> flans, Egyptians, &c.
Is not this therefore a very particular thing, and that which made the
prophets very illuftrious, that the great luftre of the prophets continued
but for a certain time \ There have been none fince the year 3553. Their
glory appeared in thehiftory of eight ages ; but it does not extend itfelf
any farther. Now why, I pray, mould there be no impoftors after Ma-
lachi, as well as there were impoftors before him ?
One may imagine, perhaps, that the prophecies were immediately
difperfed, fome being uttered in one place, and fome in another : fome in
the kingdom oijudah, and others in the kingdom of Ifrael ; fome in
Balylon^ others in Egypt ^ which might give opportunities for impoftors.
Bur,
I. This objection may be ftrongly retorted back : for how can we
conceive, that in the d:vifion which feparated the Jfraeliics from the
Jews, thofe of Judah would charge themfelves with the writings
publifhed in a kingdom fo much an enemy to them, without examina-
tion, when every thing which comes from thence ought to appear
iufpected ?
II. They were all collected into particular volumes. But the pro-
phecies of Hcfea, Ijaiahy and Jeremy, and the moft confide) able of the
left, arc preferved in books which contain many other things.
ill. They are all exactly joined with the hiftory of the fame nation,
each one in a place where there was an equal concern to preferve and
to gather them together. But befides, they were all collected info one
body. In fhort, the feventy-two Interpreters translated them \ntoGnek
in
3
CH. VI. Books cf the Old Te/lament, 37*
in the year of the world 3727, and fo fubmitted them to the examina-
tion of the Egyptians ; and this alfo keeps us from doubting of their
truth.
This tranflation was made but one hundred thirty and eight years
after Malachi^ the laft of the prophets.
But what judgment foever may be made of thefe reflexions, the defign
whereof is only to eftablifh the reputation of thefe prophecies, and of the
books wherein they are written, that fo no room may be left for any fuf-
picions of forgery; 1 (hall add two considerations to what I have faid
already, which ought to appear convincing to every attentive man.
I. One can fufpedt none but the Jews as forgers of thefe oracles.
Now, not to fay any thing of the ablurdity of fuppofing that a whole
nation mould have fufcribed to fuch an impofture, all the Jews through-
out the world were, after their return from the captivity, ftrongly pre-
poiTefled with an opinion of the Mefliah's being a great temporal king :
and they have the fame belief to this very hour, in all places of the
world, wherever they are difperfed.
This being once laid down, I affirm it to be impoflible that the Jews
fhould forge oracles which affert exprefsly, that the Mefliah fliould-be
put to death in fo very odious a manner ; for, as I mall afterwards
ihew, the oldeft doctors attributed to the Mefliah all thofe oracles which
fpeak of the death of the Mefliah according to the Chriftians, and which
they themfelves in procefs of time were forced to interpret of two Mef-
fiahs, one expofed to a world of miferies, and the other only glorious :
or at leaft, I may fay it is impoflible that the Jews fhould confent to a
forgery which thwarted their common ideas and pretenfions in fo very
feniible a manner. —
II. The fecond confideration eftablifhes the fame truth with no lefs
firmnefs, which is, that the Call of the Gentiles to have a fhare in the
bleflings of the covenant which God made with the people of Ifrael, was
the thing in the world from which the Jews had the greateft averfion :
they looked upon the bleflings which the Mefliah was to communicate,
as advantages entirely referved for thofe of their own nation. How thea
can we conceive that the Jews fhould forge fo many oracles which
fhould thwart their prejudices fo fenfibly ? or how can we imagine that
a whole people would authorife with their approbation an impofture fa
contrary, and fo very oppofite to their own opinions ?
But it is no hard thing to imagine, that when the Jews were once
perfuaded of the authority of their prophets, either by their miracles,
or by the ready accomplifhment of every oracle which they had publicly
pronounced, they fhould receive their books with a profound fub-
miflion, and preferve them with the utmoft care. But it appears to be
an incomprehenfible thing, for a people to receive impoftures contrary
to their prejudices, and impoftures reiterated fo often, without any
ground, but what a vaft number of records never before heard of would
produce.
But 1 fuppofe thefe reflexions will fuflice to eftablifh the truth of the
hiftoncal and prophetical books of the Old Teftament : fo tnat there
will be no need of alledging particular proofs, which might demonftrate
A a 2 the
372 Reflexions upon the Ch. VII.
the truth of each book in particular, which would carry me out to too
great a length.
I (hall now confider the oracles themfelves, and I fhall fhew the pro-
grefs of the light of this revelation, with refpect to the prom He of the
Meffiah. That this progrefs may be the better obferved, 1 {hall do
three things, as I have formerly obferved, without which the mind of a
wife reader will not receive fatisfacfion.
I. I flu 11 explain in a few words the reafon why thefe oracles are
interwoven with feveral hiltories or prophecies which feem to have no
relation to the promifc of the Meffiah.
II. I fhall give fuch rules as will ferve to juftify the application which
both Jews and Chrijiians have equally made of feveral oracles only to
the Meffiah.
ill. I ihall fet the oracles according to the order of time, which will
manifeft the advancement and progrefs of that light which is to be found
in the revelation itfelf : as, indeed, it is natural to conceive that God
fhould explain himfelf more clearly in this matter, in proportion as the
things themfelves were nearer to their completion.
C II A P. VII.
For what Reafon the Orac'es which relate to the Meffiah, were interwoven
with other Things which j'eern to be very widely dijiant.
o
NE of the greateft difficulties which may be raifed againft the
oracles of the Old Teftament which concern the Meffiah, is that
which feem to be widely diftant from any idea of the Meffiah.
There are none fo profane as to deny, that if in the fame author, and
in the fame chapter, any man fhould read in one continued (cries predic-
tions which fhould explain the miraculous birth of the Meffiah, his fa-
mily, his preaching, his miracles, his fufFerings, his refurreCtion, his
afcenfion into Heaven, the fending cf the Holy (jhoft, the calling of the
Gentiles^ but that the hiftory of the gofpel would fufficiently juftiiy
Jefus Chriit to be the prom i led Adeffiah.
But they take it to be a very ftrange thing, that the apoftles fhould
apply feveral paflages in ancient authors to the hillory of Jefus Chrifr,
though the whole contexture oi their books do not feem to oblige us to
make any fuch interpretations.
They therefore fuppqfe that the apoftles' made -feveral fortunate allu-
fions to the more remarkable paflages in thofe ancient authors, which
may pafs for predictions of thofe events which afterwards happened ; juft
as Nonnus wrote tb~ hiftory oi the gofpel in Homer's verfes^ and as£u-
dox'm
Ch. VII. Booh of the Old Tejlamni\ 373
doxia made a Cento out of Virgtft poem, which contained the fame hiftory,
though neither Homer nor Virgil had any of the myfteries of the Chriftian
religion then in view.
That this apparent difficulty may he folved, it will be neceflary to
examine three things : I. The matter of fact itfelf. II. The reafons
which gave occafion for the doing of it. 111. The impreffion which
this fact has produced in the minds of men, to this very time.
For thefirft : Though it is well known that common ufe does not allow
men to join foreign ideas in the fame difcourfe, yet we may eafily con-
ceive fhat God might and ought to do it, if we will allow what may be
eafily collected, that he refolved to fend the Meffiah into the world :
fuch a practice was the more natural, becaufe the ancient Patriarchs
before M jes, and Mofcs himfelf, who formed the commonwealth of the
Jews, had prepared the minds of the people to fuch fort of expreffions
as were raifed above the prefent fubject.
And certainly, if one takes but the pains to confider the wifdom and
beauty of the authors who writ thefe prophetical books on the one fide,
and the character of the writers of the NewTeftament on the other, he
would perceive, that if thefe words, That it might be fulfilled, were of
neceffitv to be changed into thefe, As one may perceive a fort of completion of
fuch or fuch pajfages in the Old Tf anient, yet, notwithstanding that, the
moft part of thofe quotations would evince an exact accomplish-
ment, and the oracles which they alledge would bear a juft pro-
portion to thofe events which are related by the evangelifts in our
Saviour's life.
Can any thing be more fingular than the prophecy in the feventh of
I fat ah, of the Mefliah's being born of a virgin; of the piercing of his
hands and feet, P/al. xxii. of the mixture of gall which was offered
him to drink, hinted at, Pfalm Ix. 22. of his being fold for thirty pieces
of filver, Zechar. xi. 3. or than feveral others of a like nature, which
at prefent I fhall not ftand to reckon up ?
It muff, be confefTed, however, that thefe oracles are interwoven for
the moft part with matters relating to events happening in the time when
each prophet lived, or which feem to be applicable perfonally to the
prophets.
Three orders or reafons may be conceived, which will juftify the
wifdom of God in the ordering of thefe oracles in a way which feems
fo contrary to the common practice of the world.
Trie firfl order contains reafons drawn from the perfon of the Meffiah
himfelf, of whom we fpeak.
The fecond order contains thofe which arife from the confideration of
the people amongft whom the Meffiah was to be born.
The third contains thofe reafons which refpecf. other nations amongft
whom the Meffiah was to be preached. 1 fhall examine thefe three forts
by themfelves ; and 1 hope that we may gather from thence, that the
eternal wifdom prefided over this mixture of thefe oracles when relate to
the Meffiah, with other ideas which feem to be wholly foreign to the
fubject.
In fhort, it may be urged, that the belief of a Meffiah formed of fo
apparent contradictions, cannot eafiiy be received of the fudden : a
A a 3 Meffiah
374 Reflexions upon the Ch. VII.
Mefliah of the feed of David, whom David calls his Lord; a Mefliah
who complains that he \>forfakcn by God, whom however he ought to
adore; a Mefliah born with the weakneffes of youth, who at the lame
time is called a mighty God, and the father of eternity, &c.
However, thefe ideas which feem fa pppofke ought of neceflity to
have been fo feparated by the prophets, left they fhould have been
looked upon as chimerical defcriptions, and incompatible in one and the
fame fubjecl.
A fecond reflexion which may be made upon this matter, is, That
the Jezvs were bound not only to preferve their oracles, bur alfo to exe-
cute them in part : thus, for inftance, there was a neceflity for them to
reject the Mefliah, to deliver him unto the Gentiles to be crucified; there
was a neceflity that their punifhment fhould be as fignal as their crime,
and that they fhould bedifperled over the w<rld, after the defrrudion of
jet ufalem, as the prophets have clearly fhewn. No .-■ how couid all this
have ever been effected, if the defenption of the IVlefliah by the pro-
phets had been as hiftorical as that of the apoilles, or the evangelifts-,
who gave us only a narrative of matters of fuel: ?
In a word, was it not the intereft of the Gentiles, to whom the gofpel
was to be preached, that thefe oracles fhuuid be lcattered up and down
the writings of thefe ancient authors ? They were to be called, upon the
rejection, of the Jews : the Jews were bound to preferve the books of
the Old Teftament, after they were call off by God, that the authority
of thefe books and thefe oracles might be beyond ali conteft, as tefti-
monies with which we are furnifhed by the adverfe party, which ought
to have place, until the fulnefsof the Gentiles fhould profefs Chriftianity.
Let any one therefore ju dge if it was not neceffary, in this irate of affaii«,
that there fhould be fome obfeurity in the prophetical defcriptions; and
by confequence, that this interweaving of foreign ideas with thofe which
concerned the Mefliah, as alfo this difperfion of the oracles through dif-
ferent places of the facrcd writers, was not neceffary ; and fo much the
more, as they were uttered upon feveral occafionsby different authors.
And we may affirm it, as a certainty, that, according to the purpofe
of God, this obfeurity did not hinder either jews or Pagans from per-
ceiving thofe ruling ideas of a Mefliah, when they read the Old Tefta-
ment. Neither was the difperfion of thefe oracles through fo many dif-
ferent places any greater hindrance to their application ; iince the Jews
laid it down as a conftant maxim, that the accomplifhment of every
thing which we rind to be foretold as great and i i 1 u fl r i o us by the pro-
phets, ought to be looked for in the perfon of the Mefliah, when the
events of a nearer date did not anfwer to the greatnefs or magnificence
of the predictions.
Several ages had paffed, from the time in which the prophet had
foretold that the Mefliah was to be born at Eetb'elrrn ; and yet we fee
that the idea of it continued very frefh among the Jeivs in our
Saviour Jcfus Chrih's time, as is plain from the anfvvci which they
gave to Herod.
There are lt-vcral other examples might be given, which fhew that
the Jews inourSaviour's time applied the very fame orack» to theMefliah
which
Ch. VIII. Books of the Old Teflament. 37$
which we do ; and without queftion, if it had not been To, the apoftles
would firft have proved that thefe oracles had relation to the Mefliah,
which they took for granted, as a thing conftantly acknowledged;
whereas now they only endeavoured in the gofpel to juftify that Jefus
Chrifr. was the Mefliah, by (hewing, one by one, that all the characters
which the Jews attributed to the Mefliah, were to be found in him.
Beiides, it is manifeft, from our Saviour's explication of the cxth Pfalmy
that though the Jews could not conceive the folution of that difficulty
which naturally appears in thofe words, The Lord [aid unto my Lord, Jit
thou at my right handt yet afterwards they immediately applied that oracle
to the Mefliah* without feeking after any other fubje6ts to which they
might apply it, as the Jews endeavour to do at this day.
But after thefe remarks upon the mixture of thofe oracles which relate
to the Mefliah, with others which Item to be of a more foreign nature,
we ought to come to fome general rules by which we are to apply the
ancient oracles to the Mefliah.
CHAP. VIII.
General Rides for the Under/landing of ancient Oracles, and for the Applied*
tion of them to the Mejfiah.
I. \ S it appears very natural to conceive that the moft ancient
X\. revelations ought to be expreffed in the moil: general terms, be-
caufe they were furtheit from the time of their accomplishment, and fo
one ought to find in them a more perfect delineation of the defign of
God ; yet it is vifible, however, that they ought to contribute very
much to the understanding of thofe later Oracles, becaufe, if thefe later
ones do really contain a more particular explication of his defign in
lending the Mefliah into the world, yet they ought always to follow thofe
ideas which God at firit made ufe of to make his defign known in the
world.
II. his natural to grant, that when God had told the Jews, by Jacob
and Balaam, that the coming of the Mefliah was not fuddenly to hap-
pen, if he intended to bring them to a certain knowledge of the Mefliah
after a long revolution of years, by thofe ceremonial and judicial laws
which he cftablifhed, that he ought to breed them up in an expectation
of the Mefliah, by lively ideas, and by oracles which Should particularly
explain the manner and circumftances of his appearance.
III. It is no lefs natural to acknowledge, that when God promt fed
fome illuftrious perfon, or fome great advantage to the Jcwifh nation,
he did it only to entertain the people with an expectation of the Mefliah,
and, upon that account, that he might and ought to join the promife of
the "tyfefliah with it, as the principal object which the jews ought always
to have in view, until ir. fhould actually happen.
A a 4 In
376 RojlexioM upon the . Ch. VIIL
In fhort, there are two forts of oracles in the Old Teftament : the
firft are fuch as it is impoflible to apply to any other befides the Mefliah ;
as, for inftance, the place of his birth ; the feed of the woman Jhall break the
ferpent's head j the Lord thy God will rai/e up unto thee a Prophet from the
midfl of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; unto him ye Jhall hearken (I).
Whereupon he that added the relation of Afofes's death, takes notice that
after that there arcfe up no Prophet in Jfrael Uke unto Mcfcs.
The fecond are fuch as feem to agree in part to fomebody elfe befides
the Mefliah, though we may find there alfo fuch particular characters,
that it is impoflible to apply them perfectly, and in their utmoft extent,
according to the whole force of their expreflion, to any other fubject:
befides the Mefliah. And fo Balaam feems to have fpoken of Davids
Numb, xxiii as Julian the apoftate maintains, and of his victories
over the Afoabitc s, in the fame place wherehe promifes the Mefliah, and
where he fpeaks of the manner of his fubduin^: the children of Seth ; and
fo David, in the fecond Pfalm, fpeaks of the oppofitions which he met
with, in his advancement to the throne, but in terms too great and too
emphatical to be applied to hirn alone.
Thofe principles which I have now eftablifhcd, that God promifed the
Mefliah in general term?, but without anv intention of fending him into
the world until Several ages had been parted, gave rife to thefe two forts
of oracles. On the one fide, there was a neceflity of explaining this
promife diftinctly from time to time ; and, on the other fide, there was
a neceflity of accommodating himfelf to the defines of the fews, by
joining thefe ideas with every thing that was great and confiderable in
thefe events, and in thofe perfons to whom the prophetic fpirit intended
to add a luftre by its predictions.
The Jews are agreed at prefent, as they were alfo in our Saviour's
time, in the application of the moft part of thofe oracles in the Old
Teftament, which the Chriftians apply to the Mefliah ; and if they
difpute fome of them, which they explain in a fenfe perfectly forced,
yet they cannot difpute thefe following truths.
I. That the mofr part of thofe oracles which we apply to the Mefliah,
were applied in the fame manner by ihcfewijh Doctors in our Saviour's
time : as the CX. PJiilm, for inftance, which has relation to the nature
and glory of the Mefliah ; the II. Pfulm, wjiich has refpeft to the con-
fpiracy of the princes and the people againft the Mefliah ; that place in
Mieah which fixes the birth of the Mefliah to Bethlehem, &c.
II. That, as they thought themfelves obliged to make two Meffiahs,
becaufe of the apparent contradictions which are to be found in thofe
various events which are applied to the Mefliah in thofe predictions;
fome perfectly glorious, and others every way contemptible ; fo there is
no injuftice done, in explaing thofe oracles which at firft feem only to
have relation to one fingle perfon, of the Mefliah, and of fome other
perfon.
III. That fince they themfelves believe, that their anceftors might
lawfully pafs from one fenfe to another in their explications of thofe
oracles, fo that they were permitted to apply an oracle to fome other
fubject, which did not feem to agree exactly enough to that fubject which
their
(/) Gen. iii. 15. Dcut. xviii. 15. Deut. xxxiv. 10.
Ch. VIII. Books cf the Old Jejlament. 377
their anceflors had firfl in view, as the particular fubjecT: concerning
■which the oracle treated ; fo it is not only juft, but nectfiary too, to
pafs from one fubjecl to another, as the Apofties have actually done.
IV. That we ought to pay a much greater deference to the opinion
of the ancient J.'iui, than of thofe who have been lowered by their mi-
feries and difputes to fuch a degree, that they have loft that principle of
equity which keeps men from denying the mod evident truths, and
which have been the moll: universally acknowledged by a whole nation,
that was not prepoiTefied with (o great a degree of obftinacy.
But we ought to obferve, befides, that this feeming confufion of thofe
oracles which relate to the Mefiiah, with other fubjedh treated of by the
Prophet?, arofe from feveral caufes.
I. P'rotn the Prophets often joining the ideas of the principal pro-
mife, the fending of the Mefiiah, with the promife of thofe means which
were absolutely neceffary for the atcompliihmcntof that promife, as the
prefervation of the Jews, for inftance. So the captivity of the Israelites
in Egypt, and their departure from thence, with their fettling in the land
of Canaan, which he had promifed them before, were foretold, as necef-
fary means, in the order of Providence, to the execution of the great
defign of God.
tor fo the Bcbylonijl) captivity, and their deliverance therefrom, which
are both foretold, are foretold as fteps towards the execution of the pro-
mife of fending the Mefiiah.
And fo likewife, when they foretold the perfecutions by Antiochus, and
the other neighbouring nations, they alfo foretell the deliverance which
God would grant to the Jews, and their re-eftablifhment until the
birth of the Mefiiah, which was the accomplifhment of that great pro-
mile.
II. This feeming confufion arofe from the writing of thefe books
piece by piece, which afterwards were nut in this order, without having
always a regard to the time in which they were written, and with-
out taking notice of all the occafions which engaged the Prophets to
write. And thus we fee the prophecies which relate to the Mefiiah
joined to feveral other tran faction?, and to feveral other predictions,
whofe connexion is not always fo very evident.
III. It arifes from the writing of the prophecies each by themfelves,
fo that all thofe of the fame Prophet were put together as they came out,
making only a new chapter in the work; whereas they ought to be con-
fidereu rather with relation to the matter, than to the order in which
they lie in the book, as we have it at the prefent : for the Prophets often
borrow their light from what they themfelves had faid fome time be-
fore, or from what fome other Prophet had foretold, which ought to be
obferved particularly of thofe who lived about the fame time.
But beiides thofe rules which I propofed in the beginning of this chap-
ter, and befides thofe obfervations of the joining the oracles which re-
late to the Mefiiah with other fubje&s, I muftadd two rules more, which
may be ufefu! in determining the fenfeof great numbers of oracles which
are ex pre fled in figurative terms. The fit ft is, that it is natural to con-
ceive, that when the Prophets were to fpeak of the lYJ when
they were intent upon the defcription of his kingdom, they fhould nuke
ufe
378 Reflexions upon the Ch. VITI.
ufe of exprcffions which fee med to foretel a fort of overturning of nature,
which fhould happen at that time: but then thefe expreffions ought to
he underftood in a 6gB?ativ< ferrfc, in the fame fpiritual fenfe in which
the Cbriftians underftood them, as the famous Maimonldes allows in that
paifage of Ijaiab where the wolf and the iamb are faid to feed toge-
ther (m).
Second!)', fmce the Mcffiah is defcribed as one who fhould unite, in
his own perfon, the glory of the Divinity and the meannefs of the hu-
man nature together, we ought to underftand thofe oracles in fuch a
manner, that what is great in thofe prophetical defcriptions, fhould not
contradict the more contemptible part, when weeonfider the Meffiah as
clothed with all the meanneffes of the human nature. Thefe ideas,
which are often joined in one and the fameoracles, ought to be exactly
applied to the different confideration which the Prophets had of the
Meffiah, or to thofe various ftates through which they themfelves
allure us the Meffiah was to pafs.
An intelligent reader will eafily judge, that I might have added a third
rule to the two former ; which is, that when a perfon who has ali the
characters of a Prophet, applies an old oracle to any fubject, one cannot
reafonably difpute his application. This the Christians affure us was
done by the Apoftles in a very great number of oracles. But becaufe
this fuppofes a prophetic character in the apoftles before it has been
efrablifhed by folid proofs, I (hall wave the propofal of it at prefent.
After thefe general remarks, I fhall gather together thofe oracles in the
Old Teftament, which relate to the Meffiah. 1 might here follow the
order of the matters, by bringing under each article thofe oracles which
relate to it, which would give a great light to the fubject, zs Eufebius has
rightly obferved, and as he has practifed himfelf in his books de Denuri-
Jlrutione EvangeVua. However, I rather chofe to follow the order of
time in which thefe oracles were uttered, which did not feem improper
to explain thofe truths which are contained in thofe oracles.
In fliort, this is of great import-ance : I. Becaufe it is very natural to
confuler the feries of God's defign, and the connexion which may be
found in thofe ideas which are made ufe of to exprefs it.
II. Becaufe of theneceffity of the increafe of light in the Revelations,
proportionably as the time drew near; fo that it is of ufe to obferve
how the Divine wifdom followed this natural order in making the later
oracles clearer than the former, and in hinting, by little and little, a
greater number of circumftances, by which it was ncceffary to explain
them.
III. Eecuife this ferves to give us a very ftrong proof that God in-
tended to furnifh us, from the Scriptures themfelves, with that which
fhould fix us in a belief of this capital truth in our religion. In fhort,
when the truth of each of the books in the Old Teftament is once ap-
proved, and their age fet down, it appears that feveral Prophets did agree
wonderfully, without any concert, in the cxplicationof the fame truths,
at feveral time*, and in feveral places and circumftances, which 1 * ider
men, for the moft part, from agreeing in the moit common matters
which are the fubjedts of their reflexions.
I have
(w) Lib. de Regibusl cap. xii.
Ch. IX. Books of the Old Teflament. 379
I have already confidered that the wifdom of God followed rules very
conformable to the condition and inclinations of the Patriarchs, when
it fpoke of the Meffiah. We may fee the fame conduct in the follow-
ing times.
So, fince God had promifed children to Adam in Abel's ftead, one may
fee that he alfo promifed David a fon who fhould fit upon his throne.
He explains almoft all the circumftances of his coming, his humiliation,
his exaltation, the oppofitions he fhould meet with, the victories he
fhould obtain, and his offices, prophetical, prieftly, and royal.
One fees afterwards, that the Prophets explain, in a more particular
manner, all thefe ideas which David had already propofed. Ifaiah fpeaks
of his birth by a virgin, of his fpiritual gifts, of his miracles, of his
fufferings, of his refurreclion, of his calling of all nations in to his wor-
ship, and of his carting off the Jews.
Thole who come after, point out the place particularly, and the town,
where the Meffiah was to be born ; they defcribe his covenant, and the
calling of the Gentiles to the fervice of the God of Ifrael.
In fhort, they defcribe both the character of the fore-runner of the
Meffiah, and the empire under which he was to appear, and the very
year in which he was to die, as Daniel particularly doth.
I cannot undertake to relate all the oracles which are contained in the
books of the Old Teftament, they are fo very numerous : but I hope
at leaft, to mark the more principal, and the moil illuftrious ones, and
to explain them in fuch a manner, that all fhall be obliged to acknow-
ledge, I. That God defigned to give infallible proofs to his church, of
his defign in fending the Meffiah into the world, and to preferve the
continual remembrance of him, as of a perfon who was promifed to give
all comfort to his church, and whofe coming fhould bring falvation to
all mankind ; II. That the care which he took in fpecifying all the
circumftances of his coming into the world, fhews that he'defigned to
prevent the fcandal which the abject life and death of a Meffiah might
produce, and the falfe judgments which men might form of the works
of a Divine wifdom, when they only judge of them by the outfide;
III. That he defigned to give an infallible proof, that this fending of
the Meffiah was the work of his wifdom and fidelity, which at laft ac-
complifhed a thing, the defign whereof had been propofed to mankind
immediately after the fall.
C H A P. . IX.
Ofthofe Oracles concerning the Mejfiah which are to be found in the Booh of
Genesis.
I BEGIN with thofe Oracles which are contained in the book of
Gencf:, iince it is convenient to touch them all over again in few
words.
The
3S0 Reflexions upon the Ch. TX.
The firft. oracle is comprifed in thtTe term?, Gen. iii. 15. / will put
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed j it
J})oll bruife thy head, and thou /halt bruife his heel,
Thisoracle has confiderable advantages, though it is expreffld in figu-
rative terms. God uttered it in the- beginning of" the world, after he
had given fentence againft Adam, and the woman, and the ferptnt, in a
very fenfible manner, even under a human fhape, if wc may dare to affirm
it. He uttered it before the head of all mankind, which ought to make
it confiderable to all his pofterity. He expieiies itbv an alufi-m to the
nature of the temptation, and to the form of the ferpent, which the
tempter had took upon him. He prt ferves thereby the memory of the
temptation, by infpiring all mankind with an invincible hatred againft
all ferpents in general, though the tempter had took the fhape but of
one particular kind, for an inftrument to accomplifh his deftgn.
In fhorf, this oracle clearly {hews, I. That it fhould be particularly
the feed of the woman ; Alain not being touched at. II. That the feed
of the woman, that is to fay, the Mefiiah, fhould deflroy the power of
the ferpent, expreflcd by the head, that is to fay, the power of the Devil.
III. That this feed fhould, however, receive a confiderable wound from
the Devil, though it fhould only touch his heel, the leaft confiderable
part of the Meffiah. IV. That all the bleffings which God fhould give
to mankind after the fall, fhould be grounded upon the fending of tiiis
feed into the world : this is more clearly expreffed by God's telling
Abraham, That in thy feed all the nations of the earth fhould le bleffed (?z).
That this oracle, Gen. ii:. has relation to the Meffiah, is pla;n : I. Be-
'cauie it is the fource and abridgment of the whole reflation ; Ii. Be-
caufe all the ancient Jezvs in effect undcritood it fo ; IU. Becaufe the
.A potties, in following the ideas of the fynagogues, plainly referred them
to the Meffiah, by the aliufions which they make to them (;<), JjhnxW.
Jlomansxvi. Ii. Cor. xi. I. John iii.
The fecond oracle which relates to the Meffiah, is contained in thefe
terms, when God fpoke to Abraham; In thy feed fnall all the nations of the
earth be bleffed.
This oracle is very illufirious: I. By the perfon of Abraham, whom
God made the depofitary of it, and who made himfelf ready to facrifice
his own fon : 11. By the frequent repetitions which God made to this
Patriaith, ufing in rffect all thole way? which he afterwards followed in
his revelations to the Patriarchs, for fifty years together, from the year
2c8j to the year 2 1 33 of the world : iii. Becaufe it was accompanied
by the circumci'lon; fo thar, though it foretold that the advantages ihould
be in common to all nations, yet it limited the Meffiah to be born of
barn's fe< d.
It alfo intimates very clearly, I. That the bleffings which it promifes
fhould be in common to all nations ; II. That tins bieltiiig fhould be
quite of another nature from temporal ones, as theincreafe, for inftance,
and the power of Abraham's pofterity, which had been prom i fed to him
before. St. Paul's reflexions, Gal. iii. 8. That God fpake of feed in the
lingular number, is very remarkable} and (o much the more, becaufe the-
^w/j made, a like obfervatiou upon a parallel place in the Old Ti.it. w
(») Gen. ixii. 18. (c) Targum in b. I.
Ch. IX. Books' of the Old fe/lament. 381
As God repeated this promife when he fpoke to Ifaae in the year 220."!,
and to Jacob in the year 2245, ^en- XXVI1'« *4- ^"^ thy feed Jhalt be
as the daft of the earth ; and thou Jhalt Jpread abroad to the zueft, and to the
eafl, and to the north, and to the fouth : and in thee, and in thy feed, Jhall
all the families of the earth be blejfed, fo one ought to repeat again the fame
reflexions. This ought only to he added, That God reftrained the
honour of bringing forth the Meffiah to "Jacob, the Ton of IJhacf that the
Edomites might not come in to challenge the right, as I have very par-
ticularly explained in my reflexions upon Genefis.
We come now to the oracle which Jacob gave in the year 2315. It is
one of the cle.nefb predictions in the whole Bible, and it is expreffed in
thefe terms : Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren Jhall praifc ; thy hand
/hall be in the neck of thine enemies : thy father's children JJoall bow down be-
fore thee. Judah rj a lion's whelp ; from the prey\ my Jon, thou art gone up :
hejhofed down, he couched as a lion, and as an old linn : who Jhall roife him
vp ? The (ceptrejh dl not depart from Judah, nor a law -gh\r from between
his feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto bim Jhall the gathering of the people be.
Binding his foal unto the vine, arid his a/s's celt unto the choice vine -, he
wajhed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His efts
Jhall be red with ivine, and his teeth white with milk. Gen. xlix. 8. — 12.
i know very well, that fome of the Jews have pretended that Mo t$
ought to be underftood for Shiloh; but this is fo ridiculous an opinion,
that there is not the leaft probability to maintain it. What fceptre had
Judah, before Mofes came ? How was Mofes the expectation of the Gen-
tiles, and the object of their hope ?
And, indeed, the body of the Jcwifh nation are agreed, that this oracle
was meant of the Meffiah ; fo Onkelos the ChalJee paraphraft, lb the Jeru-
fnleni Targnm, and Jonathan's, fo R. Solomon Jarchi, Abenezra, and
Kimchi, are agreed.
Now thefe reflexions may be naturally drawn from this oracle, which
Jacob uttered upon his death- bed.
I. This oracle is found amongff a great number of oracles which con-
cern the other tribes of the IJraelites, and which were accomplished as
to every tribe.
II. This oracle contains feveral particular events which relate to
private tranfactions in the tribe of Judah.
III. This oracle was, as it were, Jacob's will in favour of Judah, at
a time when he divided amongft his children their portions which they
were toexpecf fiom him.
IV. This was a preference of Judah, who was but the fourth, to R
who was the eldeft, and who, by confequence, ought to have be-
head of his family. The fceptre, and the authority of tegiftator, was
promiied to' Judah, which did not belong to him by the right of his
birth.
Jacob therefore prepared his children to lock for an accomplifhment
of t{iofe promiles made to Abraham in Juiuh, as well for the kings who
were tn be descended from him, as for me nations of the earth who were
to be bleffed in Abraham's fceo.
But we muft go yet riyther. I fhall therefore obferve, I. That this
prophecy particularly regarded the tribe otj-ulab, as all the prec«
arid
382 Reflexions upon the Ch. IX,
and following oracles concerned thofe tribes whofe heads were then
named by Jacob.
II. That this prophecy concerns the tribe of Judah, at fettled in the
land of Canaan, by a diltincl: eftablifhment from the other tribes. In
fhort, it is certain that the tribe of Judah had fome fuperiority. Thus
God, for inftance, commanded that tribe to march the firft, Numb. ii.
& x. Its heads offered their prefents firft, Numb. vii. 11, 12, 13. In
Jofljua's, time this tribe took its divifion, without drawing lots for it. One
fees that God ordered the tribe of Judah to lead the people out to the
conqueft of the reft of the country ; one fees the fame prerogatives in
the book of Judges, though they were often of other tribes. From David's
time to the taking of Jerufaiem by Nebuchadnezzar, the kings were all of
that tribe j and Zorobabel afterwards headed thofe who returned out of
Chaldea* The book of the Chronicles names the tribe of Judah firft ;
Herod was the firft king who was wholly a ftranger.
III. That Jacob fuppofed<that the tribe of Judah (hould be in pofleffion
of a form of government, and of a community, till the coming of the
Mefliah. This was all very proper; and indeed we fee that this tribe
continued under its own governors, after the other tribes had been
tranfported, II. Kings xvii. 18. It almoft fwaliowed up Benjamin and
Levi, who fettled in their country; and indeed Jofephus allures us,
that there were but few of the ten tribes who came back again
into Judea under Ezra, for the greateft part of them ftayed beyond
Euphrates ; and we fee that at laft they gave their .name to the whole
country.
IV. That this oracle was fulfilled by degrees. This I have obferved
already of the pre-eminency of the tribe of Judah before David's time,
which was a ftep to the advancement of it to the throne ; and the lelTen-
ing of their dignity, which was to be entirely taken away when the
Mefliah came, had alfo the fame gradations. David was fct upon the
throne over all Ifrael ; but his houfe loft the government over ten tribes
in his grandfon Rehoboam's time. His fucceffbrs were tributary to the
neighbouring princes : whereas David carried his empire to the walls of
Babylon; though afterwards the Babylonians i'ubdued the Jews, and depofed
the kings of Judah. At laft, they abfolutely loft all that authority which
they had hitherto kept. They recovered a little in the perfon of Zoro-
babel', and though they were foon after invaded by the Seleucida, yet the
Maccabees prefer ved them a little, till Herod and the Romans took away
all thofe remnants which they had yet left.
In carrying thefe views of this oracle further, we may yet further ob-
ferve, I. That God intended to oblige the Ifraelites to wait for the fceptre
in the tribe of Judah. It muft be there, before it could depart thence.
It was natural to conceive, that the Jews were to look yet much further
than David. Thofe words, It fhall not depart, denote a continuance of
the fceptre in the houfe of David for fome considerable time.
II. It is eafy to comprehend a lefiening of the dignity in the term
lawgivtr, [See Judges v. 14. E3«ppnia] which God feems to have made
ufe of, as a mark of the fall, which I have obferved in the perfon of
Zorobabel, who, as to the time, was about the middle of the oracle.
III. In
Ch. IX. Books of the Old Tefiament. 383
III. In a word, it is eafy to acknowledge that this oracle affigns the
tpccha in grofs for the time of the coming of the Meffiah, viz. the ruin
of that authority and power which the Jews (properly fa called from the
tribe of Judub) fhould enjoy after their re-eftabhfhment. God could
not explain himfelf more particularly, in {fating the precife time when
this thing fhould happen.
There are two other very considerable oracles ; one uttered by Balaam,
in the year 2553, before the king of the Moabhes, who had fent for hirn
to curfe the people of lfrael that by in the plains ; the other uttered the
fame year, by Mofes, the famous legiflator of the^-zw. The firft is inferred,
by Mofes, in the xxivth chapter of Numbers; the other is in the xviiitfi
of Deuteronomy,
The fir it is in thefe words : J Jhall fee him, but not. now ; I Jhall behold
him, but not m gh : there Jhall come a flar out of Jacob, and a fee ptre Jhall
rije out of lfrael, and /hall fmitc oil the corners <j/*Moab, and deflroy all the
children of Seth. And Edom fl)all be a pojjejjion, Seir alfo Jhall be a pofj'ejfton
for bis enemies, and l(rzt\ Jhall do valiantly. Out of Jacob Jhall come he that
jhall have dominion, and Jhall defiroy him that rernaineih cf the city.
One ought to obferve, that Balaam* character, the prefence of the
king and the elders of Aloab, and all the circumftances in which it was
uttered, do advance its authority considerably.
But the turn of his expreffions is equally fingular and remarkable.1
I. He fpeaks of the Meffiah as of a flar, hinting out to us the celeftial
nature of the Meffiah : whereas hitherto God had only defcribed him
under the figure of a bare man : though the other was made fufficiently
intelligible, when the deflru&ion of the empire of the tempter, and the
right of procuring a bleffing unto all the nations of the earth, which he
was perfonally to enjoy, were attributed to him; things infinitely beyond
the power and condition of mankind to perform, were attributed to him.
II. Heobferves, that this perfon of whom he fpeaks fuch magnificent
things, ought however to be defcended from Jacob ; which ratifies Ja~
cob's prophecy in favour of Judah. III. Though he hints verv clearly at
the effects of thofe bleffings and temporal victories which Jacob's poste-
rity was to obtain over their neighbours, yet at the fame time he infi-
nuates plainly enough, that the beftowing of the bleffing which all the
nations of the world fhould obtain, was to be referved to Jacob's feed ;
when he refufed to retract thofe promifes of bleffing which God had made
to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, to which ora-'es he made a fenhble
allufion.
And it is very important to conftder, that the Jeivs always applied this
oracle to the Meffiah, as may be feen by their Cbaldec paraphraft ; and it
was acknowledged fo generally, that the famous Jebiba, who lived under
the emperor Hadrian, pretended that Barchocbeba was the Meffiah,
becaufehis name was Chochab, which is ajtar in Hebrew; as if God in-
tended to mark that importer for the true Meffiah, by foretelling what
name he fhould be called by.
The oracle which Mojes uttered a little before his death, is very con-
fiderable. The people being terrified with the manner of God's fpeaking
to them upon Mount Sinai, defired that God would no lodger fpeak as
he had done before, but that Mofes fhould give them an account cf what-
ever
384 Reflexions upon the Ch. X,
ever God fhould command. Hereupon, God confents to their requefr,
2nd prom i fed them, by Mofes, that he would raife them up a prophet like
Mofes, to whom they ought to hearken, upon pain of being
c. (
He that made the addition to the laft book of Mofes, wherein his death
is defcribed, takes notice that there never rofe up afterwards a Prophet
in Ifraei like to Mofes. If it was Ezra who made that addition, then here
i- a plain and clear decilion againft the Jew s, fome of whom afiert, that
Jofhua or Jeremiah was the prophet whom Mofes promifed : if it was
Eleazar, wno lived in jojbuas tircv, then here Jojhua at leaft is excluded
from this privilege of being defigned by Moles.
But it is to no purpofe to flop at fuch frivolous objections : one needs
only obferve Mofes* s character, to take notice of four certain marks of
Mofes's prophecies, which advance him infinitely above all the other
Prophets. I. He had all the forts of revelations which are generally
found amongft all the Prophets. II. He was illuftrious for great numbers
of miracles. III. He not only reformed the errors and falfe ways of
worfhip then prevailing amongft the Jews, but he fet up a new worfhip,
and a new form of religion. IV. He introduced this law, and this way
of worfhipping God, by fuch a converfation with God, as one fees
amongft; two intimate friends. In which of the Prophets may thefe four
chara6tcrs be found r
The Galileans themfelves teftified plainly that thefe characters ought
only to be found in the perfon of the Mefliah, when they faw the
miracles of Jefus Chrift, John vi. 14 ; and the Jews acknowledged the
fame in our Saviour's time, when they applied that oracle to the Mefliah,
John i. 45.
But if thefe oracles were obfeurely hinted at in this oracle, one may
fee them clearly applied to the JVleifiah in the following oracles, pro-
portionably as the revelation incrcafed, and as God unravelled the ideas
of thefe ancient oracles, by explaining them more particularly by thofe
Prophets whom he afterwards raifed up. This may clearly be feen, if
we pafs on to thofe oracles which were uttered by David, and the other
Prophets who lived about his time.
CHAP. X.
Of the Oracles which concern the Mejfiab in the Bock cJPsalm$:
THESE were the Oracles which were the fubjecls of the medi-
tations of the faithful from the year of the world 2553, in
which Mofes died, until David's time, who was particularly chofen by-
God to be the only man of his family, which was alio feparated from all
the other families of Judah, who came from Pharez, from whom the
the Mefliah was to be defcended.
I have
Ch. X. Booh of the Old TeftamenU ^85
I have obfcrved, in another place, that in all probability God raifed
David to the throne, only to make the genealogy of that family better
known, from which the Meffiah Was to fpring.
As this double advancement of David, one to the throne of Ifrael,
the other to be the father to the Meffiah, ought to have infpired him with
lively refentments of gratitude, and as his oracles would be much more
famous, being uttered by a royal Prophet, and the rather becaufe God
employed him in the making a juft regulation of the fervice of the fane-
tuary j fo we fee that David employed his pen in giving more diftincl:
ideas of that Meffiah which he promifed them.
The name Mejfiak properly fignifies a perfon confecrated by anointing
to be King, Prieir, or Prophet. This name was particularly applied
by David, and the Prophets who lived after him, to that holy feed which
God had promifed to Abrahairfs family by Ifaac, by Ja^ob, by Judahy
and by David ; and one may obferve in David's Pfalms, and in the Pro-
phets of his time, that they gave the name of Meffiah to the promifed
feed, under one or other of thefe three fenfes.
The characters both of a Prophet and a Prieft, though each of them
are auguft enough, yet yield to that of a King. 'Thefe are the different
ideas which David, and the Prophets of that time, followed in all the
variety of their defcriptions.
But it is not my defign to give a particular account of all thofe oracles
which defcribe thefe different characters, for fear of being exceffively
long: fo I fhall content myfelf with obferving two things: I. That
David alone uttered more oracles than all the Prophets who came before
him ; II. That thefe oracles of David, concerning the Meffiah, are
clearer than all the precedent ones.
Now, I fay, that David alone uttered more oracles than anyone Pro-
phet who came before him j thus in the xlth Pfalm he explains the de-
cree by which the Meffiah became the fervantof God, and clothed him-
felf with the form of a fervant, to offer unto God a more perfect obe-
dience than that which had formerly been offered by burnt-offerings and
facrirlces. He defcribes the meafure and the nature of his miniftry,
which was to confifr. in the inftruclion of the people in rightf.oufnefs,.
truth, and the falvation of God. Pfalm xl. 7. II. Sacrifice arid
offering thou didji not deftre, mine ears hafi thou opened : burnt-offering and
Jin-offering haft thou not required. Then, [aid I, Lo, I come ; in the volume
of the book it is zvritten of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy
law is within my heart. I have preached righteoujnefs in the great congre-
gation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O-Lord, thou hiowefl. I have not
hid thy righteouflefs within my heart, I have declared thy faithfulnefs and
thy falvation : I have not concealed thy loving kindnefsy and thy truth, from
the great congregation.
In the with Pfalm he defcribes the inviolable fleadfaftnefs of the Mef-
fiah to the fervice of God, who had fent him to form a great people ;
with the manner of his deliverance by God from all the powers of the
world, by raifing him up from the dead, and afterwards receiving him
into glory. Pfalm xvi. S, &e. I have fet the Lord always before me : be-
caufe he is at my right hand, T fhall not be moved. Therefore my heart is
glad, and my glory rejoiceth ; my fef h alfoffmll refl in hope. For thou wilt
Vol. I. Bb not
386 Reflexions upon the Ch. X.
Hot leave my foul in hell; neither wilt thou fujfer thy Holy One to fee corruption.
Thou vjiltjhevj me the path of lift : in thy pre fence is fulnefs of joy, at thy
right hand there are pleafurcs for evermore.
in the xxiid Pfalm he deicribes the agonies through which the Mef-
iiah was to pals, the manner of his death, the victory which he fhould
obtain over his enemies, and the converfion of thofevery nations which
had caft him ofF.
In the cixth Pfalm he fpeaks of the oppreflions of the Meffiah, pro-
nouncing great numbers of imprecations againft that very perfon who
fhould fignalize himfelf by perfecuting his innocence. Hold not thy peace,
0 God of my praife : for the mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceit'
ful, arc opened againft me ; they have fpoken againft me with a lying tongue.
Verfe 1,2. Set thou a wicked man over him, and let Satan f and at his right
hand. When hcjhall he judged, let him he condemned, and let his prayer be~
f.omejr,:. Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Veri'c 6, 7, 8.
Becau/e that he remembered not to f hew mercy, but pcrjecuted the poor and
needy man, that he might even fay the broken in heart. As he loved curfing,
fo let it come to him : as he delighted not in blefjing, fo let it be far from him.
As he clothed himfelf with curfing like as with his garment, fo let it come into
bis bsweli like water, and like oil into his bones, Verfe 16, 17, 18.
In the lxixth Pfalm he carries this argument further, in his defcrip-
tion of the zeal of the Mefiiah for the houfe of God, and of thofe infult-
ings which he fhould meet with, and the manner of their giving him
vinegar and gall to drink, with the hardening and rejection of thole who
had ufed him in that manner. Save me, O God, for the waters are come
in unto my foul. I jink in deep mire, where there is no flanding : I am come
into deep waters, where the foods overflow me. Verfe 1, 2. Let not them
that wait on thee, 0 Lord God of Ho/is, be ajhamedfor my fake : let not thofe
that feck thee, be confounded for my fake, 0 God of\ frael . Becaufefor thy fake
1 have born reproach ; Jhame hath covered my face. 1 am become a fir anger
unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother' 's children : for the zeal of thy
houfe hath eaten me up ; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee, are
fallen upon me, Verfe 6, 7, 8, 9. Reproach hath broken my heart, audi
am full of hcavinefs : and I looked for fame to take pity, but there was none ;
and for comforters, but J found none. They gave me alfo gall for my meat,
and in my th'irfl they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become afnare
before them ', and that which Jliovdd have been for their welfare, let it bcc.mle
a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they fee net ; and make their loins
continually to f hake. Pour out thy indignation upon them, and lei thy wrath*
ful anger take hold of them. Verfe 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
In the xevnth and xcviiith P/ahns, hedefcribes the deftrucYton of ido-
latry when the promifed Saviour fhould appear, ?nd when God fhould
raife him upon his throne. Tloe Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice ; let
the multitude of the ifles be glad thereof. Plalm xcvii. I. Confounded be
ell they that fa ve graven images, then boaf themfelves of idols : worfhip him?
all ye gods. Zion heard, and was glad, and the daughters c/*Judah rejoiced;
becauje of thy judgments, 0 Lord : for, thou, Lord, art high above all the
earth : thou art exalted far above at I gods. Verfe 7, 8, 9. Ofing unto the
Lord a new fong, far he hath done marvellous things : his right hand, and
his holy arm, have gotten him the viclory. Ihe Lord hath made known hisfaU
VQiim :
Ch. X. Books of the Old Tef anient. 387
vat ion : his righleoufnefs hath he openly fhewed in the fight if the heathen*
He hath remembered his mercy and his truth towards the houfe of ifrael : all
the ends of the earth have fven the falvaiion of our God. Make a joyful noife
unto the Lord all the earth : make a loud noife, and rejoice, and Jmg praife,
Pfalm xcviii. I — 4.
In the lxviiith Pfalm he explains the glory of the Mefliah, and his
afcenfion into heaven, with the effufion ot thofe gifts which lie was to
fpread abroad for the converfion of the nations, that God might dwell
amongft the mod rebellious. Princes ffcall come out ?/"Egvpt, Ethiopia
Jhall [can flretch out her hands unto God. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the
earth : O jing praifes unto the Lord. To him who rideth upon the heavens of
heavens , which were of old; lo, he doth fend out his voice, and that a mighty
voice. yJfcribe ye lircngth unto God: his excellency is over Ifrael, and his
flrength is in the clouds. 0 God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places, the
God of i frael is he that giveth flrength and power unto his people. V er fe 31,
32> 33> 34> 35>
The Prophets who lived in the time ot David, or foon aftej, punned
all his ideas. One fees that Nathan, II. Sam, vii. foretells Solomons
glory, and the honour which he mould have in building that tomple of
which David had formed the defign before, in fuch a manner, that he
clearly fliews three things which will by no means ngree with Solomon.
I* That God fhould raife upafon to David after his death, and place
him upon his throne; whereas Solomon was born, and advanced to the
throne by David himfelf. II. It was promifed that this government fhould
beendlefs : this is not applicable to the royal pofterity of David, who
had but twenty fuccefiors, who bore the title of kings. J II. That God
particularly promifes to be the father of this promifed fon, which is not
more applicable to Solomon than to David, to Jof.ah, or Hezckich,
One fees that Corah's, pofterity gave that account of Solomon's glory
upon his marriage with the king of Egypt's daughter ; he fpeaks of a
throne much more auguft then that prince's was, and he reprefentS to us
a God confecrated with oil of gladnefs above his fellows. This exactly
fets forth the auguft character of the Mefliah, and his anointing to be
the king of all nations, their Prophet, 2nd their Prieft. Pfalm xlv. T*
My heart is inditing a good matter : Ifpeak of the things which I have made
touching the king : my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Verfe 7, 8 Tiy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever ; the fceptre of thy kingdom is a right
fceptre. TJjou loveji righteoufnefs, and hatejl wicked,icfs ; therefore God, thy
God, hath anointed thee with oil ef gladncfs above thy fellows. Veife 16. bt-
jlead of thy fathers JJoall be thy children, whom thou mo.yjl make princes in all
the earth.
One fees the fame Prophets inviting all nations, in the xlviith Pfalm,
to acknowledge the kingdom of God ; which Daniel afterwards de-
scribes as that which the Jews already knew was to be governed by the
Mefliah*
One fees ^/2?/>£defcribing in the fiftieth Pfalm the manner of the Me'f-
fiah's afTembling all people, and of his reletting the ancient and legal fer*
vice, and prescribing a Spiritual one, even Sacrifices of vows, and of praife.
Verfe 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. And the heavens Jtiall declare his righteeufnefs : for God
is judge himflf Hear, 0 my people, and I willfpcak j O Ifrael, and I wilt
B b 2 tef iff
388 Reflexions upon thi Ch. X.
teftify againfl thee i I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for
thy facrifces, or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually before me. J
•will take no bullock out of thy houfc, nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every
beafl of the forefi is mine, and the cattle upon a thoufand hills.
One fees the author of the Ixxiid Pfalm defcribing the glory and hap-
pinefs of Solomon's kingdom in fuch a manner, that he carries his views
as high as the Mefiiah at the fame time ; he foretels the continuance of
his kingdom as long as the fun and moon endures ; that all the kings of
the world fhould bring prefents to him, and that all the nations of the
earth fhould worfhip before him. Verfe 5. They fhall fear theeaslongas
the fun and moon endure, throughout all generations. Verfe 8. He f hall have
dominion alfo from fea to fea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth,
Verfe 1 1. All kings fhall fall dovjn before him, all nations f ball ferve him.
Verfe 17, 18, 19. His name fhall endure for ever', his name f hall be con-
tinued as long as the fun, and men fhall be bleffcd in him ; all nations fhall call
him bleffcd. Bleffcd be the Lord God of lfrael, who only doth wonder on s
things : and lleffed be his glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be
filed with all his glory ; Amen and Amen.
One fees that Ethan the Ezrahlte, who is reprefented to us as the
wifeft man in that age after Solomon, explains the promife made to David
of a fon who fhould reign for ever, and whole throne fhould be im-
movable, in the Ixxxixth Pfalm. This agrees to none but the Mef-
fiah, whom he defcribes as the firft-born of the princes of the earth,
and as the fon of God, in a manner which is not applicable to any of
David''?, pofterity, except only to the Meffiah. Verfe 19, 20. Then thou
fpakcfl in vifions to the Holy One, and faldjl, I have laid help upon one that is
mighty ; I have exalted one chofen out of the people. I have found David my
fervant ; with my holy oil have I anointed him. Verfe 24., 25, 26, 27, 28,
29. My faithfulnefs and my mercy fhall be with him ; and in my name fhall
his horn be exalted. I will ft his hand alfo in the fea, and his right hand in
the rivers. He fhall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the
Hock of my Salvation. Alfo I will make him my firjl-born, high r than the
kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my cove-
nantjhallflandfafl with him. His feed alfo will I make to en hire for ever,
and his throne as the days of heaven. Verfe 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. A'everthe-
lefs my loving kindnefs will I not utterly take from him, norjuffer my faithful-
nefs to fail. Afy covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of
my lips. Once have I fivorn by my holincfs, that I will not lie unto David.
His feed fhall endure for ever, and his throne as the fun before me: it fhall be
tjlcblljhed for ever as the moon, and as a faithful wltncfs In heaven.
One needs only read over the P films which I have now taken notice
of, and which are almolt all applied by the Jews to the Mefliah, to fee
the great number of oracles which God gave in David's time, con-
cerning this matter ; not to fpeak of thofe which defenbe the calling of
the Gentiles, which fill up the book of the P/alms almoft entirely.
i come now to the proof of the fecond article, which is to Ihew, that
the oracles which David uttered are much clearer, and much more par-
ticular, than thofe which were gi*n before. This I hope to prove be-
yond all eonfideration, by confidering two Pfahns, the one whereof de-
fcyibes the prodigious humiliation of the Meiiiah, and the otherdefcribes
bis
Ch. XI. Books of the Old Tejlament. 389
his advancement at the right hand* of God; two of the greateft truths
declared by the Prophets, and two the moft fingular of all the cha-
racters which belong to the promifed MeJJiah,
CHAP. XI.
Confiderations upon the Sufferings of the Messiah, and upon his glorious
Jfcenfion into Heaven^ foretold by David in the xxiid and cxth
Psalms.
IT cannot be denied, when one reads the xxiid Pfabn, but that the per-
fon there fpoken of is defcribed figuratively, as one expofed to the
fevereft fufferings, from which he is afterwards delivered by the Divine
afliftance, and advanced to rule an empire which extends itfelf over all
the nations of the world, and afterwards univerfally adored.
I. He that fpeaks, cries out as if God had forfaken him, and had
flopped his ears unto his cry.
II. He defcribes himfelf as a worm, and no man, as the reproach of
men, and one defpifed by the people.
III. He takes notice, that thofe who were witnefTesof his fufferings,
made a mock at them, bidding him truft in God, that he might deliver
him.
IV. He ranks his enemies amongft the bulls of Bofhan^ and raging
lions, who (according to the prophetical way of fpeaking) are the chief
men in the nation. Amos iv. I. Ezek. xxii. 25.
V. He joins the dogs with them, that is, profane perfons, or the
Gentiles.
VI. He reprefents his hands and his feet as pierced with nails.
VII. He {hews that he was ftretched out before, in fuch a manner,
that they might count all his bones : this exprefles the idea of a man
fattened to a crofs, and expofed to the view of all the world; as he
afterwards defcribes himfelf to be quite dried up, from the lofs of blood,
when he was crucified.
VIII. He takes notice of their parting his garments, and,
IX. Of their calling lots upon his veflure.
In fhorr, one fees, throughout all the expreflions of this Pfalm, the
image of a death which was equally fhameful and cruel.
The other part of the Pfalrn gives us an account of the deliverance
of that perfon who is mentioned in this holy hymn.
I. He obliges himfelf to praife the name of the Lord in the moft
numerous afiembly.
II. He obferves it as an effecl: of this deliverance, that all the ends
of the world mould remember, and turn unto the Lord, and that aH
the kindreds of the nations mould worfhip before him.
B b 3 III. At
3$0 Reflexions upon the Ch. XL
III. At lafl, he takes notice that the kingdom of God fhould fpread
itfelf over all the nations of the world.
One may judge, by the hiftory of David, whether this Pfalm is appli-
cable to him ; therein we may fee all the croffes which he underwent,
particularly reprefentcd, during all the former years of his reign. But
there we have no account that David ever fuffered any thing like that
which is fo exactly defcribed in this Pfalm. And this maybe faid fur-
ther, that when David took any. occasion to paint out his fufFerings to
us, he has put in feveral ftrokes which only relate to the Meffiah, and
which fhew us, in a very lively manner, that he was to pafs through
much greater trials than any of thole from which David had been de-
livered.
The later Jew?, who endeavour to verify this prophecy in E 'fiber or
Mordecai, agree with us at the bottom, that David carried his views fur-
ther than barclv in his own fufFerings ; and thofe alfo who apply it to
the people of Jfrael, rnuft acknowledge the fame truth, even againft.
their wills.
But the more ancient Jews were more equitable in their applications
of the xxiid Pfalm to the Meffiah. They applied it to him in earneft,
even after j.he time of Jefus Chrift, when the comparifonof thefe cha-
racters of the Meffiah, which may be found fo exactly in the death of
Jefus Chrift, led them to an oppofirion of this truth.
And certainly there needs very little equity to acknowledge that this
oracle, or rather this heap of oracles, belonged to the Meffiah, by the
confeffion and agreement of the Jews in our Saviour's time.
I. They had not then refolved to make their advantages of the writer's
fault, who writ [»"IKD] like a Urn, inftead of [TiJO] they have pierced
my feet, as th y have \\one fince. In fhoit, Aqui'a, who lived a hundred
years after Jefus Chrift, and the other Jewtfb interpreters, Symmachus
and T'oeodoiior, , tranflated'that paflage as we now read it.
II. The notion which the Synagogue always had of the fufFerings of
the Meffiah, obliged them to fuppofe two Meffiahs, one fu fieri ng, and
the other glorious, rather than to contradict that truth openly, which
is expn fTed by thefe oracles in fo particular a manner.
III. Nothing can be imagined to be more ridiculous, than to fuppofe
that Jefus Chrift fhould cur-re the firft words of this Pfalm upon the
crofs, thereby to engage all mankind to take notice of the accomplifh-
ment of this ancient oracle in all his fufFerings, if we fuppofe that this
Pfalm, even by the confeffion of the Jews, had no relation to the
Meffiah.
The fame reflexion may be made concerning the apoftles, who have
quoted fo many pafi'ages of this Pfalm, to prove that Jefus Chrift was
the Mefliah ; becaufe one may find in his death, and in the circumftances
of it, fuch a literal and ex.'dt accomplifhment of this ancient prophecy.
But if it fhould be objected, that, after all, this agreement of the Syna-
gogue can make no more than a ftrong prejudice, this may be eafily an-
fwered, by confidering that when the Pfalmift (peaks of the extent of
his kingdom over the whole earth, it was that circumftance which de-
termined the Synagogue in their application of this whole Pfalm to the
Meffiah j becaufe, as the Jews themfelves acknowledge, this extent of
empire
Ch. XI. BoohoftheOldTtftament. 391
empire is one of thofe characters which, according to the ancient oracles,
is applicable to none but the Meffiah. In fhort, (becaufe it is of great
importance, I fhall repeat it here again) common fenfe led thofe who
confidcred thefe ancient oracles, to compare them (as naturally they
ought) with thofe that went before, and to determine the fcope and in-
tent of the later ones by the relation which they had to the precedent
ones ; and there was only need of one conliderable claufe, to make a cer-
tain deternwnaiion after they had made fuch a comparifon. This the
Jews were certainly convinced of, when they acknowledged that the
laft words of David, II. Sam. xxiii. 1 8. were to be applied to the
Mefliah, by comparing them with Balaam% oracle of the Meffiah,
Numb.xx'w.
We may therefore take it for granted, that David did not abfolutely
fpeak of himfelf in the xxiid Pfalm, and that he carried his views as far
as the Meffiah; that he gave a great number of characters to his pofte-
rity, whereby they might diftinguifh, notwithstanding the greatnefs of
his fufFerings, and even the better by his very fufrerings, than which no
clearer marks can poffibly be given ; becaufe there is nothing more in-
voluntary than enduring of miferits, nor nothing which depends lefs upon
the choice of the perfon who is to undergo them, than the particular
kind of puniihment, or than the circumftances which muft accompany
his death, when it is once left to the unjuft power of .violent enemies.
We come now to the cxth Pfaim, which in a very few words contains
feveral very important characters of the Meffiah, which are very dif-
tinctly expreffed.
If one confiders it exactly, it feems to have been compofed after that •
Nathan had acquainted David with the glory of his fon, which God
had promifed him ; fuch a fon who fhould build a houfe wherein God
fhould dwell for ever, and who fhould fit upon a throne which fhould
never be overturned ; whereas David had only formed a defign of build-
ing a temple to the Lord.
In fhort, one fees that the fpirit of prophecy had given him a view
of the glory of this auguft king who fhould be born of his feed, and of
the glory of his kingdom which fhould never be deftroyed. David ad-
vances this king not only above all MEN, by calling him his Lord, who
was himfelf a king; but alio above the angels, by making him fit at the
right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven. This is perfonal. He
alio defer ib^s the glory of his office, by confidering him as a prieftof a
higher order than that of Aaron, from whom Me khijedech received tithes
in the perfon of Abraham : and, in a word, he acquaints us with the
progrefs of his kingdom, and the greatnefs of his victories. Let us
examine all thefe characters of thcmfelves.
I. He brings in God fpeaking to the Meffiah, whom he calls his Lord:
Sit thou at my right hani, until I make thy enemies thy footjiool. This point;
out to us, 1. That the Meffiah ought to be advanced to glory; 2. That
God intended to fubdue his enemies by little and little, whilfr the Mef-
fiah fhould be in his glory, as it was foretold in the fecond Pfalm.
II. He obferves, That the empire of the Meffiah was to begin at
JerufaUiiiy or Sien> which was then to be under the power of his ene-
mies.
B b 4 III. He
jgjt Reflexions upon the Ch. XI.
III. He exprefsly points out the quick extent of the kingdom of the
Mefliah, with the character of thofe who fhould fubmit to him with-
out conftraint or violence, which was much pra&ifed under Mofes's
Jaw.
IV. He pofitively aflerts, that the Mefliah fliould be eftablifhed a
Prieji after the order of Mdchifedech, which would overturn the whole
Levitical priefthood, which then was to have an end j yet the very fame
king who dtfigned the draught of the temple which Sclomcn built fome
time after, undermines the foundations of this material building, and
clearly fuppofes that the Levitical miniftry, which was fixed to Solomon's
temple, mould laft no longer than until the coming of the Mefliah.
V. He particularly takes notice, that the Mefliah mould, by the Di-
vine afliftance, deftroy all that mould oppofe his power, and fhould bring
all things under his dominion, as a conqueror who fhould overturn all
things with the utmoft violence.
Nothing can be greater than thefe feveral oracles ; nothing can be
more particular than his defcription of the glory to which the Mefliah
was to be advanced after that prodigious humiliation which is defcribed
in the xxiid Pfalm ; but what can we fuppofe to be the reafon of Da-
vid's fpeaking of the Mefliah in this Pfalm f This I am further to con-
fider.
One may fay that the Jews did not conflantly apply thefe prophecies
to theMefliah, before the coming of Jefus Chrift, without good grounds:
they could not apply them to any of David's fucceil'ors ; none of David's
fucceflbrs was both king and prieft. Uzziah was the only man who
dared to ufurp the priefthood ; and he was punifhed by God himfelf.
The Maccabees were not of David's tribe, but were Levites ; and none
of them ever went up into heaven, to fit at the right hand of God. Be-
sides, their kingdom did not begin in Sion, and they never brought any
other kings under their authority. They applied it therefore to the
Mefliah, purfuant to the maxim wh^ch they drew from a frequent me-
ditation upon the ancient oracles, that we ought only to look for an ac-
complishment of thofe prophecies in the perfon of the Mefliah, which
they never could find to be fulfilled any where elfe; when, at the fame
time, they knew that the exa£tnels and truth of thofe predictions could
not be any ways contefted.
In fliort, it plainly appears that they did unanimously apply it to the
Mefliah before Jefus Cbrijt came into the world, from the manner of
their confefling it to our Saviour, when he pre lied them with the xcth
Pfalm; though they could not explain the manner how David fhould call
the Mefliah Lord, when they allowed him to be his fon, Matth. xxii. 48.
One fees nothing fo frequently urged by the Apoftles as this cxth
Pfalm ; they ufe it upon all occafions, to prove that Jefus Chrift had the
characters of the true Mefliah, fuch as David had given him in the
cxth Pfalm, fuppofing ftill, as a thing beyond difpute, that David fpoke
of the Mefliah in this famous prophecy.
So that, whatevafions foever the Jews may endeavour to make ufe of,
yet they cannot deny but that their moft famous Doclors, fince Jefus
Chrill, have upon feveral occafions followed the old notions of the Sy-
nagogue in this matter. One finds in their writings great numbers of
teftimonics
Ch. XII. Books of the Old Teflament. 393
testimonies which confirm this truth. I (hall not mention them at pre-
fent, becaufe they are well enough known, and becaufe I would make
hafte to come to that new degree of revelations which God gave to thofe
Prophets who gave new characters of the Mefliah to the Jewijh nation
for fome ages after David's time.
They are in too great a number to be fpoken of, one by one, and I
am forced to range them under certain heads ; though I intend at the
fame time to make more particular reflexions upon fome of thofe which
give us an account of the moft remarkable truths, and foby that means
furnifh us with the moft fenfible character whereby we may know more
certainly the perfon whom God propofed to his people in fuch a manner
as the Saviour of Jfrael, and whom he had before called the Expedat'mn
cf the Gentiles,
CHAP. xu.
That the Messiah was to have a Forerunner, and what was to be his
Character.
WE fhall make it manifeft, in the fequel of the difcourfe, that the
Mefliah was to appear in a very defpicable ftate, and consequently
that his appearance would be very diftafteful to thofe who expected him
in the fplendour of a great king and conqueror. To oppofe this pre-
conceived opinion of theirs, the Divine Wifdom thought fit to appoint
one to be his forerunner, who fhould call the Jews to repentance, and
a reformation of their lives, and form in them a true notion of the
miniftry of the Mefliah, as of a perfon who was to prefcribe to them
laws of the greateft purity and hohnefs. And indeed, in examining the
holy Scriptures, we find that the appearance of the Mefliah was to be
ufhered in by a perfon thus diftinguifned : the following prophecies are
very exprefs to this purpofe.
The hrft of thefe we rind in the xlth of Ifaiah, verfe 3, where the Pro-
phet fpeaks thus, before the deflruc~tion of the firft temple ; The voice of
him that cricth in the wildernefs, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, makeflrait
in the defert a highway for our God [a). The Jews acknowledge that this
chapter fpeaks ot the comfort the Mefliah was to procure for his people,
and that the voice mentioned here refers to thofe who were to declare
and proclaim his coming (b).
We meet with a fecond prophecy in Malachi, who prophcfied after
the rebuilding of the temple, and who, having (hut up the viiion, pre-
cifely points at the time wherein he was to appear, viz. during the fe-
cond temple, chap, iii, verfe 1, 2, 3, and 4. Behold, I will fend my mef-
fenger, and he fhall prepare the way before me : and the Lord whom ye Jeck3
Jhallfuddenly come to his temple\ even the mcfjenrer of the covenant, whom ye
delight
(a) Ifai. xl. 3. (£) Abenezra*
394 Reflexions upon the Ch. XII.
delight in, heboid, he Jhall ccme, faith the Lord of Ho/Is. But -who may
abide the day of his coming ? And who Jhall ft arid, when he appear eth? For
be is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers foap. And he Jhall Tit as a refiner and
■purifier off her ; and he Jhall purify the jons ofL,c\\, and purge them as gold
and fiver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righlcoufnefs.
The jews own that chefe words alio of Malachi fpeak of the fore-
runner of the Meffiah (c).
But we ought to obferve in the foregoing paflages, I. That they have
a manifeit relation to the time of the Meffiah's coming. Should the Jews
deny this (as indeed they ananimoufly acknowledge it) it would be an
eafy matter to convince them, I. By urging the authority of the Lvan-
gelifls, who apply thefe very paffages to the mlniflry of John the Bo.ptifl.
Thus we find that St. Matthew and St. Mark make a manifeft allulion
to thefe two prophecies (d) : Zachary alfo, the father of John the Bap-
tifl, applies that of Lfaiah to his ion; and his authority is the morecon-
fiderable, becaufe he was a prieft. 2. By an attentive confidering the
paflages themfelves. 3. By the common confent of the Jcwifh church,
who by a generally received and undoubted tradition, that Elijah the
7i/hbite{thcScptuagi.nt, in their tranflation of that place of Malachi, telling
vis as much) was to be the forerunner of the Meffiah ; and we find that,
in the time of our Saviour, the multitude and his Difciples fuppofed the
fame thing : and the Jews at this day have the fame perfuafion, viz.
that Elias is to come before the appearance of the Meffiah ; from which
tradition of the Jews the Chrifians of old did, and many at this day do
believe, that Elias ihall relume the functions of his mimftry before the
lad coming of Jefus Chjrift to judge the quick and the dead.
II. We may obferve, that the character of tne forerunner of the
Meffiah being that which the Jews had much in their eye, it was need-
ful for it to be as notable and extraordinary as was that of the Prophet
Elias, whofe miniitry was without difpute the mod remarkable and il-
Juftrious of all the Prophets fince Mofes ; which gave the the Prophet
Malachi occahon to call him Elias, much upon a like account as the
Prophet Ezekid calls the Meffiah David (e).
But above all things, we mull carefully obferve the fcvcral marks the
Prophets give us of this forerunner.
The Prophet lfaiah gives us thefe following particulars: 1. That
his miniftry was to be very fignal, and attended with general refpecland
veneration ; 2. That he was to preach in the wildernefs ; 3. That he
was to call finners to repentance ; 4. That he was to confound thole
who were moll eminent in authority, and to comfort the poor and
humble; 5. That he was immediately to precede the Meffiah; 6. That
his miniftry was to ufher in that grand revelation of the glory of God
in the prefence of all flefti, i. e. before all nations of the earth, who
were to be called by the Meffiah to his religion, according to the exprefs
declaration of the Prophets.
The Prophet Malachi doth mod diftinftly reprefent to us, 1. That
the miffion of this forerunner was not far off, Behold, faith he, I fend
my meffengcr. He fpeaks of it as of a thing at the door. Now it is
evident,
(<-) R. Saad. \d) Matth. ill- I. Mark i. 2.
\e) Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24..
Ch. XIII. Booh of the Old Tefament. 30$
evident, and the Jews themfelves own it, that from the time of Afalachi,
there was never a prophet, till the appearance oijohnthe BaptiJl.
2. It tells us that this Ellas was to call iinners to repentance, and to
prepare the way before the face of the Lord.
3. That he was immediaiely to precede the Mefliah : this he exprefles
by faying, And the Lord whom ye feek Jhall fuddenly come t$ hh temple, even,
the Angel of the covenant whom ye delight In. It is evident that he (peaks
hereof the Mefliah, whom he calls, not only the Angel or Meffenger of
the covenant^ but alfo the Lord (f) : the Lord, forafmuch as God had
promifed him as a king to the houfe of David; and the Angel of the cove-
nant, becaufe God by him was to make a new covenant with thteTiations
of the earth, as Jeremy declares, chap. xxxi.
CHAP. XIII. x
Hhat the Messiah zvas to be born before the Diffblution of the Jewifh State,
and the DeJlruflion of the Second Temple.
THE preceding mark of the Mefliah leads us to this we are now to
fpeakof, and affords it confiderable light. I will not repeat here
what I have already fet down concerning that prophecy, Gen. xlix.
verfe 10. concerning the time when our Saviour was to appear in the
world. It is evident, at firft fight, that that prophecy evinces three
things : 1. That the fceptre was to be in the houfe of Judah, before ever
the Shiloh was to come. 2. That the fceptre was to give way to an in-
ferior dignity, which the Prophet fets forth by the word lawgiver ; and
which did take place till the time of Zerubbabel, and his fucceffors.
3. There was a neceflity that this laft dignity alfo was t>» come to an
end, which happened not till the advancement of Herod the Great to
the throne of Judea. And it is eafy to confirm this truth, by other
'oracles which give a further light to this our explication.
We have feveral that are very remarkable upon this account : the firft
is that of Daniel, chap. ii. verfe 40, 41, 42, to 46. where he firft takes
notice of the fucceflion of feveral monarchies, until that of the Mefliah.
2. The time in which the Mefliah was to appear. I confefs he does not
determine the time very precifely, mentioning only the monarchy during
which he was to be manifefted ; but to make amends for this, when he
comes to explain the particulars of this prophecy, which before he had
propofed in general terms, he doth not only point at the time of his
appearance, but the very year of his death ; and he does it with that
exactnefs, that it is impoflible to be miftaken about it.
See what he faith in the ixth chapter of his Revelations, verfe 24, 2£,
26, 27. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy .holy
city, to fini/.b the traftfgrefftm, and to make an end of fins, and to make recon-
ciliation for iniquity, and to bring in e-jcrlajing rightcoufnefs) andtofealup
the
(/) Pfalmii.
396 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIII.
the viflon and prophecy, end to anoint the Moji Holy. Verfe 25. Know there-
fore, and w.derfiand, that from the going forth of the commandment to reft ore
and build JerufaJem, unto the Aleffiah the Prince, fhall be /even iveeks, and
three/core and two weeks ; the Jlreets fhall be built again, and the wall even in
troublous times. Verfc 26. And after the three/core and two weeks fhall
MESSIAH be cut off, but not for him/elf. And the people of the Prince that
fhall come, fhall deftroy the city and the f ancillary ; and the end thereof fhall
be with a flood; and unto the end of the war deflations are determined. V'erfe
27. And he fhall confirm the covenant with many for one week ; and in the
mldft of the week he fhall caufe thefacrifi.ee and oblation to ceafi, and for the
overfprtading abomination he fhall make it defolate, even until the conjum-
matlon, and that determined, fhall be poured on the defolate.
For the understanding of this prophecy, which is fo exaiSt, and all the
events it refers to fo particularifed, it is to be obferved :
1. That by the weeks Daniel here fpeaks of, (even years are defigned,
according to the ftyle of the law, Levit. xxv. 8. when it fpeaks of the
year of jubilee ; fo that feventy weeks make out 490 years, which is ac-
knowledged by the moil: learned amongft the fews, Jachiades, Abarbanel,
and Manafjeh Ben Ifracl.
2. That the Prophet, writing in Chaldea, followed the account of the
Chaldean year, which confifts of 36odays, as appears clearly from other
paflages of this book, where he reiblves the years into days, without
regarding thefeveral days which, in ajuft calculation, were to be inter-
calated.
3. That the Prophet exprefles a certain epocha from whence the
counting of thefe weeks is to begin, viz. an order to rebuild the temple,
which cannot be applied to that of Cyrus, which was in a manner of
none effect. ; nor to theedidr. of Darius, fon of Hyflafpes, which had re-
gard only to the re-effablifhing of the temple ; nor to that of Artaxerxes,
given to Ezra in the feventh year of the reign of that prince, becaule
that contained only fome particular privileges for the minifters of the
temple : but to the ed i£fc which Aitaxcrxes granted to Nehemiah in the
twentieth year of his reign, which contains a particular grant to rebuild
the temple with its fortifications.
4. That God very diftinctly marks that the laft week was not to be
immediately joined with the fixty-nine weeks, by faying that the Me f-
fiah was to be cut off after the term of feven weeks and lixty-two wieks
expired, inftead of faying that he fliould be cut off in the feventieth
week.
5. That, according to this calculation, we find thefe three parts of
this prophecy exactly accompliihed. The firir, which contains their
building of the city, was performed br fore the end of the feven weeks :
the f'econd, concerning the cutting off of the Mefliah, has been likewife
fulfilled after the fixiy-ninth week; Jefus Chrilt appearing in the 483d
yc.ir after the twentieth of At taxerxes, and being crucified the nineteenth
of Tiberius.
As for the laft week, it is diftinguifhul by three characters God hath
given it, becaufe it was to be fe para ted from the fixty-ninth week by a
confiderable interval, but yet was never a whit the l'efs exactly accom-
pliihed. The firft character is, that the people of the prince was to make
peace
Ch. XIII. Books of the Old Tejlament. 397
peace with many, which agrees with the peace the Romans made with
the Parthians, of which Tacitus makes mention, Annal. lib. 15. which
peace was concluded juft feven years before the deftru&ion of Jerufalem ;
the fecond is, the ceafing of the daily facrifice, which happened three
years and a half after the peace made with the Partbians, as Jofephus
hath obferved j the third is, the deftruction of the Jews, which arrived
exactly three years and a half after the ceafing of the daily facrifice, and
feven years after the faid peace made with the Parthians.
I know that fome famous men begin the weeks of Daniel from the
fecond year of Darius Nothus, and make them to end with the deduc-
tion of the Jews, which happened in the year 490, accounting from the
fecond year of the faid Darius; and they conceive themfelves obliged
thereto, by an argument they believe invincible, becaufe, from the fe-
cond year of Darius Nothus to the thirty-fecond of Artaxerxes Mnemony
they find juft forty-nine years, that is, the feven weeks defigned by Daniel
for rebuilding of the ruins, and fortifying of the city ; and the rather,
becaufe Nehemiah returned to Artaxerxes in the thirty-fecond year of his
reign, having fini filed that work, Nehemiah xiii. 6.
But this opinion cannot ftand, for two reafons, which feem to be de-
cifive : the firft is, becaufe they join that which God hath feparated, viz.
the death of the Meffiah with the la ft week, which ends at the deftruction
of Jerufalem ; the fecond is, that without thinking of it they deprive
Jefus Chrift of the glory of having determined the time of the deftruc-
tion of the Jews, as if, inftead of a prophecy about this event, Jefus
Chrift had only given the world an explication of a former prophecy.
Now thefeobfervations being fuppofed, as indeed they are matters of
the greateft evidence, it neceffarily follows, that the Meffiah was to
appear before the deftruction of Jerufalem by the Romans. The fame is
fet down fo precifely by Daniel, as leaves no pretence to doubt of this
truth. And indeed, though the Jews feem, after the time of our Saviour,
to have adopted the opinion I mentioned before, and therefore carried the
appearing of the Meffiah to the end of the feventy weeks, viz. to the
deftruction of their temple, notwithstanding Daniel exprefsly tells us
that the Jews were not to be deftroyed till after the cutting off of the
Meffiah ; the Jews I fay, being convinced by the force of this argument,
have owned that the Meffiah was born about the time of the deftructioii
of the fecond temple, but that he had hid himfelf ever fince.
The fecond oracle, concerning the time of the coming of the Meffiah,
is that of Haggai, which exprefsly tells us, that the Meffiah was to
appear during the fecond temple, which was begun to be built by the
order of Cyrus, finifhed under Darius fon of Hyjlafpes, and deftroyed by
Vefpafian. The words of the Prophet are as follows, chap. ii. ver. 7,
8, 9. And I will Jhake all nations, and the deftre of all nations /hall come ;
and I zvill fill this houfe with glery, faith the Lord of Ho/Is. The filver is
mine, and the gold is mine, faith the Lord of Hofls. The glory of this latter
houfe /hall be greater than that of the former, faith the Lord of flo/ls : and in
this place will 1 give peace, faith the Lord of Hofls. It is worth our noting,
I. That this oracle promifes a very great change. 2. It defcribes the
Meffiah as the expectation of the Gentiles, fui table to the idea God had
given of him to Abraham, 3. That it fixes the coming of the Meffiah
to
398 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIII.
to the time of the fecond houfe, that is to fay, of the temple built by
Zorobabel. 4. It makes the glory of that hcufe to depend upon its being
honoured with the prefence of the Mefliah.
'In fhort, if we would be convinced of this truth, we need only con-
fider three things. The firft is, that the Prophets Zechariah and Malachi
do reprefent to us the coming of the Mefliah as near at hand : Balaam
had faid, almoft ten ages before, I fee him, but not nigh; which inti-
mated his coming to be then at a great diltance. But Zechariah fpeaks
thus concerning it, chap. iii. verf.. 8, 9, 10. Hear now, 0 Jofhua the
high prieft, thou and thy fellows that Jit before thee, for they are men ivon-
dercdat : behold, I will bring forth my few ant the BRANCH ; for beheld,
the [tone that I have laid before Jofhua ; upon one ftone Jhall be feven eyes;
beheld, I will engrave the graving thereof faith the Lord cf Hofts, and I
will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, faith the Lord
ef Hofts, Jhall ye call every man his neighbour, under the vine and under the
fig-tree.
Malachi exprefles himfelf, concerning the approaching coming of the
Mefliah, thus: (chap. iii. verf. 1.) Behold, I will fend my meffenger, and
he foal I prepare the way before me; c* 1 the Lord, whom yefeek, Jhah fuddenly
come to his temple ; even the meffenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, be'
hold, he Jhall come, faith the Lord of Hofts.
One ought to obferve two very confiderable things in this prophecy:
the firft, that the Mefliah was to come fuddenly ; the fecond, that
Malachi cxprefsly points to us, that the appearing of the Mefliah was
to be during the fecond temple -, the words of the prophecy diftin&ly
exprefling it.
And fure it is, that all who gave any credit to thefe oracles, did un-
derstand them fo.
The firft, both Jeivs and Gentiles looked for the Mefliah during the
fecond temple. We find a paflage exprefs to the purpofe in Tacitus-,
and it was on this ground that Jcfephus gave the title of Mejpah tu»
Vefpaftan.
2. They expected him at the end of the feventy weeks, which was
the third year after the death of Jcfus Chrift. This was the occafion
of their being deluded by fo many falfe Mcfliahs, about the time of our
Saviour, and a little after.
3. They never defpaired of his coming (taking the prom ifc of the
Mcfliah's coming to be conditional, whenas indeed it was abfolute)
until they began to believe that the term let down by God himfelf was
expired.
4. The reafon of their curfing thefe that compute the times fet down
fo diftinclly and precifely by Daniel, was, becaufe they found them-
felves difappointed in his calculation, finding that the time which Da-
mV/had pointed at for the comjng of the Mefliah, feemed to be already
expired.
5. It is but of late that they have tried to evade it, by maintaining
that the temple will be built a third time, and that then the Mefliah fhall
appear ; but this evafion is unanfwerably refuted : 1. Becaufe Daniel
afligns a certain term which is expired ] 600 years fince ; 2. Becaufe he
cxprefsly tells us, that the dtfolation of tK temple was to be. for ever,
Ch. XIV., Books of the Old Teflament. • 399
as will appear in the following chapters; and 3dly, becaufe Haggai in
effecT: calls the temple of which he fpeaks, The Jecond or third houfe ; by
which expreflion he fo diftincllv points out the fecond temple to us, that
it would be ridiculous tofuppofeit meant of a third temple, to be built
1700 years after the ruin of that of which he prophefied.
CHAP. XIV.
Tlmt the Mejfiah was to be born of a Virgin of the Houfe of David*
HITHERTO we have feen that the Memah was to be born of the
pofterity of Abraham by Ifaac, of that of Ifaac by Jacob, and of
that of Jacob by Judah. This hath been fufnciently made out already.
I have alfo fhewed from the oracle in the I. Sam. chap. vii. that he
was to be born of the poflerity of David; and we find the fame very
particularly and fully fet down in the Ixxxixth pfalm.
The following prophets haveexprefled themfelves-to the fame purpofe;
Jfaiah xi. verf. 1, 2 3. and the prophet Jeremy hath purfued the fame
ideas, chap, xxiii. verf. 5, 6. and chap, xxxiii. verf. 15, 16, 17.
Neither do the prophets only diftinguiih the Memah by his being bora
of a virgin, but alfo by determining that virgin to the houfe of David*
Neither need I repeat here what I have already obferved, that this is a
truth, the grounds whereof God had laid down in his firfr. promife, viz.
The feed of the woman foall bruife the ferpeni1 's head: where he makes men-
tion of the feed of the woman only, without naming that of the man,
the word of feed or poflerity very evidently defigning a man to be born of
the woman, which is acknowledged by the Jews in another prophecy,
and the fame which the Apoftle St. Paul (e) takes notice of as a maxim
generally owned by the doctors of the fynagogue. It is alfo evident
that the word woman plainly denotes the fex of which this perfon was
immediately to be born.
It was obvious to judge, that fomething miraculous was to attend the
birth of the Meffiah. We fee Ifaac born of a barren mother, paft the
age of child-bearing ; we find alio fomething very fmgular at the birth
of Sampfon and Samuel: and it is well known that the promife of the
Memah was fomething far greater than the birth cf thefe now mentioned,
how illultrious foever they might be; and that therefore probably his
birth was to be attended by a greater miracle. But becaule this was a
thing wholly new, we ought to obferve in what manner God did parti-
cularly foretell it.
The prophecy of Ifaiah exprefTeth it thus, chap. vii. verf". 10, II, 12,
S3, 14, 15, 16, 17. Moreover the Lord f pake again unto Ahzz fayi?;g, Jfk
thee a fgn of the Lord thy God, afk it either in the depth) or in the height
above
(«) Galat. iii-
400 Reflexions Upon the Ch. XIV;
above •. But Ahaz faid, / will not oft, neither will I tempt the Lord. And
he faid, Hear ye now, 0 houj'e o/David, is it a /mall thing for you to weary
men, but will ye xveary my God alfo ? Therefore the Lord himf elf flail give you
a fign ; behold, a virgin fhall conceive and bear a fan, and fhall call his name
Immanuel. Butter and honey fhall he eat, that he may know to refufe the
evil, and choofe the good : for before the child flail knew to refufe the evil, and
choofe the good, the land that thou ahh or rcfl fhall be forfaken of both her kings;
The Lord flail bring upon thee, upon thy people, and upon thy father's houfe,
days that have not come, from the day that Ephrz'itn departed from Judah,
even (he king of Affyria. Where we may obferve,
1. That the promife here is made to a wicked king, but of the family
of David, to whom the prophet particularly addreffes himfelf.
2. That this prophecy was given at a juncture of time very capable
of awakening their attention to it, at a time when the ftate of the Jews
was reduced to the greateft extremity, and the houfe of David in parti-
cular in a very great confirmation.
3. The prophecy was uttered by a very illuftrious prophet, who was
of the royal family.
4. It was fealed and confirmed with the prediction of the birth of a
child, which came to pafs accordingly.
5. It is fet forth as a very extraordinary fign, inftead of that which
the wicked king refufed to afk, when Ifaiah offered it him, in the name
of God.
I am not ignorant that the modern Jews deny that this character of
being born of a virgin belongs to the MeiTiah : but it is an eafy matter
to confute them.
For, firft, would it not have been ridiculous for the apoflles to go
about to apply this oracle to their Meffiah, if it had not been a thing
univerfally owned by the Jews, that this was the meaning of Jfaiab's
prophecy ? Is it not evident that this character, fo difficult to gain be-
lief, would rather perplex than ftrengthen their proofs ? And yet cer-
tain it is that St. Matthew has done fo, chap. i. verf. 23 ; as likewife
St. Luke, chap. i. verfe 31 .
Ju/lin Martyr obferved, that the notion of this oracle, as we under-
frand it, hath been entertained amongft the heathens, who built their
fable of Perfeus upon it, whom they pretend to have been born of a
virgin.
3, It appears that all thofe laws which I mentioned in my reflexions
upon Exodus, and the following books, chap. xx. and which have rela-
tion to the diftinct knowledge of the ftate of virginity, receive much
light from this notion ; and are, without it, altogether ufelefs.
4. It is evident that the Jews did not difpute this character, till after
they faw that the Chriftians applied it to JefusChrift; and thereupon
have fallen upon fuch childifh fancies as may juitly cover them with
confufion.
But we fhall be yet further fatisficd hereof, if we add to all thefe juft
prejudices, only the following reflexions on the terms the prophet makes
ufe of.
The firft is, that the feventy interpreters have, in tranflating this pro-
phecy,
Ch. XIV. Books of the Old Te/lament. 4°*
phecy, made ufe of a word that fignifies a virgin, and not a young wo-
man, as the Jews have underftood it fince our Saviour's time. The firft
who rejected the interpretation of the Septuagint was Symmacbus.(f),
who lived in the fecond century, as it is obferved by Jujiin Martyr and
Tertullian, who for this reafon accufe the Jeivs of having falfified the
holy fcripture.
The fecond is, That the Hebrew word exprefsly fignifies fuch an one
as, according to the law of virgins, was kept under lock and key from the
eyes of men, according to the cufrom of the eaftern nations, and efpe-
cially of the Jews, which continues amongft them till this day.
• The third is, That this word hath been taken by the Africans in the
fame fignification, as St. Jerome obferves.
The fourth is, That the prophet doth fet forth this child-bearing as
a prodigy and miracle altogether unheard-of, and as a particular cha-
racter, by which the houfe of David was to be ftrongly confirmed in the
hope of feeing the accomplifhment of the promife which God had made
of fettling an eternal kingdom upon it, which could not be accomplifhed
but by means of the Meffiah.
The fifth is, That though fome Jeivs have applied this prophecy to
king Hezekiah (g) j which yet to others of them feems very ridiculous,
he being nine years of age when the prophecy was uttered by Ifaiah, and'
themfelves never making ufe of this evafion, except in their difputes
againft the Chrirtians, and fo on this occafion have dropped a confef-
fion which alone Was fufficient to confound them ; yet it hath been a
thing fo generally received amongft them, that this prophecy did refpecT:
the Meffiah, that, after they had applied it to Hezekiah, one of their molt
famous doctors concludes (/;}, that they ought to look for no Meffiah,
fince the time of Hezekiab, that prophecy having had its accomplifh-
ment in him ; an opinion which thofe that fucceeded him have rejected
with the greateft abhorrence.
The fixth is, That the title of lmmanuel, given to this fon, whofe
birth is here promifed, is reprefented to us, chap. viii. as the name of
him who was lord of the land j which is a true reprefentation of the heir
promifed to David, to whom David faid, 0 God, tby God hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladnefs above thy fellows. Pfalm xlv. 7, 8.
The feventh is, That the prophet Ifaiah having alledged and cited
two witneffes, Uriah, the fon of Shetnaiah, a prophet, who was put to
death by Jeboiakim, and Zechariah the fon of Jeberechiah ; the former of
which lived long after Abaz, and the latter fince the captivity, under
Darius king of Perfia, according to the account the Jews themfelves
give of them ; he fufficiently hints, by this circumftance, that the pro-
phecy concerning the birth of the lmmanuel he fpeaks of, was to be ful-
filled many ages after, and not in that age wherein he prophefies,
(/) In Dialog, cum Tryph'on. Tertull. cont. Jtid. cap. 9.
(g) Ra/chim h. I.
(b) Gemar in Sanhed. Cap. Chelcch,
Vol. I. C c CHAP.
40 1 Reflexions upon the Ch. XV,
CHAP. XV.
That the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem of the Family of David,
which at that Time was reduced to a private State.
•"> OD had not only pointed out the time in which the Meffiah was
\JT to aPPeari w*tn tne miraculous manner and circumftances of his
birth; but he had alio named the family, the place, with the ftate and
condition of the family in which he was to be born,' as a triple cha-
racter by which he might be known.
I fay, firff, That according to the Divine oracles, the Meffiah was to
be born of the family of David, as will appear if we conflder the fol-
lowing oracles.
1. God exprefsly promifeth as much to David, IT. Sam. chap. vii. a
place I have quoted before, which proves that the Meffiah was to be
born of the family of David.
2. It appearcth that David believed this himfelf, from Pfalm exxxii.
verfe n, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. The Lord hath/worn in truth
unto David ; he will not turn from it \ Of the fruit of thy body will I fet upon
thy throne. And after having laid, verfe 12. That if his children would
keep bis covenant, that their children clfo Jhould fit upon his throne for ever-
m;re ; and this, becaufe. (vcrle 13 and 14) the Lord had chofen Zion, and
defired it fr his habitation, &c. and promifed, verfe 15, that he would
abundantly blefs her provijion, and fatisfy her poor with bread; that he would,
•verfe 16, clothe her pricjis with jalvation, and make her faints Jhout for joy j
he fubjoins, verfe 17 and 18, There I will make the horn of David to bud ;
/ have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies I will clothe with
flame ; bqt upon himjeif fijall his crown flourijh. It is very evident, that by
this horn of David is to be meant a king, the Meffiah, whom he diftin-
guifhesby that expreffion from all the reft of David's children. And
Zaehariah, in his long of praife, Luke i. verfe 69. applying it to our
Saviour, puts the matter out of all doubt.
3. Hence it was, the Prophets took occafion to give the Meffiah ths
name of David, So Ezck. xxxiv. verfe 23, 24. And 1 will fet up one
fhepherd over them, ard he Jhall feed them, even my fervant David ; he Jhall
feed them, and he Jhall be their Jjjepberd. Jnd I the Lord will be their God,
and my fervant David a prince among them : I the Lord have fpoken it.
4. The Jews are, and have always been, firm in this perfuafion,
grounded on the forefaid and other like places of Scripture, which they
conftantly refer to the Meffiah.
I fay, in the fecond place, That the Divine oracles exprefsly point out
Bethlehttn for the birth-place of the Meffiah. Micah, chap. v. verfe 2.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou belittle among tie thoufands of
Judah, yet out of thee foall he c "to mi, that is to be ruler in ifrael ;
yings forth have been from of old, from the days oft,
The Jews acknowledge that this oracle (peaks of the Meffiah ; and in-
deed the Prophet, diftinguifhing by Bethlehem, adding the word Ephratah
(.whence the family oi David \vas)J from that Bethlehem which belonged
to
Ch. XV. Books of the Old Tejlatnent; 403
to another tribe, makes it apparent that nothing could be fpoken more
diftin&ly to determine the birth-place of" the Mefliah. Befides, we find
that all the Jewi/h Rabbies and Priefts agree in this. That the Mefliah
was to be born at Bethlehem, when, being confulted by Herod about this
matter, they declared this to be their fenfe, grounded upon the fore-
mentioned place of Micah, Matthew ii. verfe 4, 5, 6.
In the third place, it appears that the Mefliah was to be born in an
abje£l, contemptible, and weak condicion, and very different from the
greatnefs of the kings of Judah. Indeed, fhould we only have our eye
on II. Sam. chap. vii. and Pfalm exxxii. it would be natural enough to
think the contrary : but Micah's oracle fufficiently refutes them ; for
how great things foever the Prophet there fpeaks of the Mefliah, whether
as to his divine nature, by declaring that his goings forth were from the
days of eternity, or to the majefty and glory of his empire, yet however
he gives us a different idea, inducing us to conceive of him, as of one
that was to be born in the ftate of a private perfon ; for why elfe is his
birth determined, not to Zion, which was the place and feat of the em-
pire of Judah, but to Bethlehem, a town where the family of David lived,
whilft tney were private perfons, except for this caufe, to make us con-
ceive that the Mefliah was not to be born in that place where the family
of David poffefTed the empire, but in a condition far diftant from the
glory of kings, and in a place where the houfe of David was contemti-
bler and of very fmall efteem ?
The fame is hinted to us by Ifaiah, in his xith chapter, v. 1. where he
calls the Mefliah a rod, or fhoot ofthejlem of Jefl'e. Now Jejfe was not
king, but a private perfon. And on the fame account it is that the Pro-
phet defcribes him, chap. liii. as having no form or comelinefs.
The Prophet Zachary alfo, chap. ix. verfe 9. reprefents him, not as
a king fitting on the throne in Zion, but as riding tojerufalem on an afs;
and he gives him the title of Loivly, which fignifies as well a mean con-
dition, as the virtue of humility.
But, infhort, this is very confiderable : I. That thofe who acknow-
ledged Jefus to be the Mefliah, thought they had the greateft reafon fo to
do, becaufe they acknowledged him to be the fon of David:
2. That thole who denied him that title, thought themfelves fuffi-
ciently juftified in fo doing, by efteeminghim aNazarene; as concluding
he could not be the fon of David, if he were born at Nazareth, as they
fuppofed.
3. The Evangelifts precifely tell us, that Chrift was born at Beth-
lehem, of the lineage of David, reduced to a very obfeure condition; and
fo making this one of the chief characters which fpoke him to be the
Mefliah,
C c a CHAP.
4^4 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVI.
CHAP. xvr.
Tfjat the Messiah was to work great Miracles, for the ejlabll/hihg of his
Miffion^ and of the Truth of his Doflrinc.
HERE is another character which is very particular, and whereby
the Meffiah might be certainly known, viz. That he was to
work great miracles for the confirmation of his miffion and of his doc-
trine.
This appears, as I have already hinted, i. From the conformity which
the Meffiah was to have with Moj'es, in being the founder of a new re-
ligious fociety, and in propofing a new doctrine to men ; upon which
account there lay upon him the fame obligation as upon Mofes, tofup-
jiort his authority by miracles, that even in this he might not be infe-
rior to him.
1. One may gather this alfo from the title of Prophet, and great Pro-
phet, which are applicable to the Meffiah ; it being difficult to conceive,
that God, who vouchfafed the glory of doing miracles to mod of the
Prophets, though they were barely fent to foretel the coming of the
Meffiah, and to give an account of him, fhould have denied the fame
glory and the fame power to the Meffiah himfclf, of whom all the Pro-
phets were but the forerunners.
Befides, it is eafy to judge, from the mean and contemptible flate
wherein the Meffiah was to appear, that this glory of doing miracles
was of abfolute neceffity, to give him authority and refpedt ; for, fince
he was to be born in an obfeure condition, and not in royal grandeur,
jt is evident that the gift of miracles was needful to make him known,
and counterbalance that low and opprobrious condition in which he was
to appear in the world.
But this particularly appears from an exprefs oracle which God gave
upon this very fubject, in Ifaiah xxxv. verf. 3, 4, 5, and 6. Strengthen
ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them of a fearful
heart, Beflrong, fear not ; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even
God with a recompenfe ; he will come and fave you. Then the eyes of the
Hind fhall be opened, and the cars of the deaffhall be unflopped. Then fhall
the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumbjing : for in the wil-
dernefs fhall waters break out, and 'ft reams in the defer t. Which oracie very
fully exprefles the power of Miracles wherewith our Saviour was to be
dignified, in curing all manner of difeafes, of which the Prophet hath
named fome only, to give us zfpecimen of the reft •, and it feems as if the
Prophet had cholen thefe four forts before all others, becaufe throughout
the whole Scripture we do not find that ever any Prophet did the like,
that fo the character of the Meffiah might be particular in his miracles
too.
It is alfo worth our noting, in giving a character of the Meffiah, firft,
That even thofc who rejected JefusChriff, yet did at the fame time fup-
pofe that the Meffiah, when he came, was to work miracles. Therefore
it-is that we hear fome of them faying to Chrift, What fign doft thsu ?
and
Ch. XVII. Books of the Old Ye/lament. 405
and others maintaining that Mofes had wrought greater wonders than
Jefus Chrfft, in giving them bread from heaven, and feeding them mi-
raculoufly for the fpace of forty years ; whilft others affirmed, that none
could work greater wonders than he wrought : When the Mcjfiah fimll
come, will he do greater wonders than this man f
Secondly, one ought to obferve that Jefus Chrift alledges this oracle
of the Prophet Ifaiah, talcing it for granted that the accomplifhment
thereof was moil vifibly evident in the miracles which he wrought, as
appears from the anfwer he gave to the meflengers of John the Baptift.
Thirdly, it is alfo obfervable, That thofe who were willing to flatter
the vanity of the emperor Vefpafian (whom Jofephus endeavoured to raife
to a belief that he was the Meffiah, becaufe he had been proclaimed in
the eaft, applying to that purpofe the words of Micah, mifapplied, chap.
v. verfe 2. IVhofe goings forth are from the eafl) were not wanting to at-
tribute to him the glory of doing miracles, and fuch as Ifaiah afcribes
to the Meffiah, by attributing to him the cure of one that was blind,
and another that was lame at Alexandria. He that would know the par-
ticulars, may confult Tacitus' % hiftory.
And, laft of all, we ought to obferve, That the Jews do not only
agree that this oracle of Ifaiah refers to the Meffiah ; but they alfo ftill
propofe the power of working miracles, as a character which would
render the Meffiah very illuftrious, and certainly known.
CHAP. XVII.
That the Messiah was to be an illuftrious Prophet,
THIS truth I have already aflerted in the Reflexions I made on
the prophecy of Mofes, Dent, xviii. But one ought to explain
this character of the Meffiah more Darticularly, God having been pleafed
further to illufrrate this oracle of Mofes.
Firft, then, we fay that the word Meffiah implies anointing, which
was common to kings, prophets, and priefts ; and fince David's time,
we find nothing more common than this title in the books of the Old
Teftament : where we may obferve that Mofes was dignified with this
gift of prophecy ; and that Samuel communicated the fame to Saul and
David, when he anointed them to be kings. Yea, the Jews to this day
are of opinion, that Ellas the Prophet fliatl anoint the Meffiah ; that is,
initiate him in his prophetical, as well as his royal function.
Secondly, God more precifely fignifies this, Ifai. xi. verf. 1,2, and 3.
where he declares he would communicate all the neceflary gifts of the
prophetical function to the Meffiah. There Jhall come forth a rod out of
theftem of JefTe, and a branch Jhall grow out of his roots. And the fpint
cf the Lord Jhall rejl upon him, thefpirit of wifdom and under/landing, the
fpirit ofcounfel and might, thefpirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord.
C c 3 s*
4c6 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVII.
that he Jball not judge after the fight of his eyes, neither reprove after the
hearing of his ears,
Thele words r.ccd no commentary; for the Jeivs refer them conftantly
to the Mtffiah ; and they plainly import that he was to be a great Pro-
phet, forafmuch as all the characters which are there given to the fpirit
which was to reft on the Mcffiah, are the fame which in the OldTeftament
we find attributed to the Prophets, and may eafily be taken notice of in
in the hiftory of the Prophets, cfpecially of David and Solomon,
And much to the fume purpofeis that paflage, Ifau x!ii. verfc 1,2, 3,
4, c, 6, and 7. Behold my Servant whom I uphold, mine Elect in ivhom my
fouldeligbteth: I have put my fpirit upon him ; be Jhall bring forth judgment to
the Gentiles. He fall not cry, nor lift up, nor caufe his voice to he hea-d in
theflreet. A bruifld reed Jhall he not break, and the jmoaking fax jhal he not
quench : he Jhall bring forth judgment unto truth. He Jhall not fail, nor be
difcounaged, till hi have ft judgment in the earth; and the tfies /htl wait for
his law. Thusyaitb God the Lord, he that created the heavens^ and ftretched
them out ; he that J'pread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it ;
be that giveth bi eath to the people upon it, and fpirit to them that walk there-
in : J the Lord have called thee in righteoujhejs, ana will hold thine hand, and
will keep thee, raid give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light f the Gen-
tiles; to cpen the blind eyes, to bring 0 t the prifonersfrom theprijon, and them
that ft in . out of the prijon-houfe. In which oracle one ought
to take notice particularly of thoi'e things which the Jews apply to the
Mefliah
1. That God propofesthe gifts of the fpirit, which he beftowed upon
him as an effect of his love, and the choice he had made of him.
2. That the Mefhah was to make ui'c of trtL- fame, as rules for re-
forming the country, and propounding God's covenant to the Gentiles;
which clearly fuppofe the neceffity of the gift of prophecy to qualify
him for fuch great undertakings.
3. That, contrary to the thundering charscler which diftinguifhed the
reft of the Prophets, who were as fo many public cenfors, the Meffiah
was to fpeak with all meeknefs and fweetnefs to the nations which fhould
receive his preaching.
One fees that Ifaiah repeats the fame ideas, chap. Ixi. verfe 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, and 7. 7 he fpirit of the Lord God is upon me, becaufe the Lord
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek : he bath fen t me to bind
up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of
the prifon to than that are bound ; to proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God ; to comfort all that mourn ; to
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ajlies, the
oil of joy for mourning, the garment oj ' praife for the fpirit of hcavinejs ; that
they might be called trees of rigbtcoujneji, the planting of the Lord, that he
might be glorified. And they Jhall build the eld wajies, they JJiall raij'e up the
former deflations, and thcyjl:all repair the wafle cities, the dejolaticm of many
general' ens. Arm ft? angers Jhall ftand and feed your foe ks ; and the fons of
the alien Jhall be your ploughmen, and your vine dreffers. But ye Jhall le named
the Priefts f the Lord j ?;. en /hall call you the Mmiflcrs of cur God : yt Jhall
eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory Jhall ye boajt your fives.
For your JJjame ye fall have double, and for confujion they jhall rejoice in their
Ch. XVIII. Booh of the Old Tcjlament. 407
portion : therefore in their land they Jhall pojfiefis the double ; everlafiting joy
Jhall be upon them.
In fhort, he reprefents, in this and the former oraclr, the Gentiles as a
people being in darknefs, and in the mifery of a prifon ; from whence
we may eafily infer, firft, That the Mefliah was to be a Prophet, how
vile and abject foever that character may appear in the eyes of the
world, as I have fhewed that it was, where I fpake of the Prophets in
general ; fecondly, That he was todifcharge thefe functions during the
whole courfe of his life, and that it was to be his chief employment here
upon earth.
David had before fignified, Pfialm xxii. verfe 22. that the Mefliah
was to declare the name of God unto his brethren, viz. the Jews, by exer-
cifing his prophetical function in Judea ; but the Holy Spirit did fome-
thing more, when he feemed to point out Galilee as the place where this
facred Doctor was chiefly to fix his abode.
This is in effect infinuated, when God tells us that he was to begin
his minifterial functions in the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon. Ifai. ix.
verfe 1, 2, and 3. Neverthelefs the dimnefs Jhall not be fuch as was in her
vexation, when at the firft he lightly afflifled the land of Zebulon, and the
/a«^o/"Naphta!i, and afterwards did mve grievoujly ajjlicl her by the way of
the Jea, beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in
darknefs have fie en a great light ; they that dwell in the land of the Jhadow of
death, upon them hath the light finned. Thou hafit multiplied the nation, thou
hafi increafied the joy : they joy before thee according to the joy in harvefit, and
as men rejoice when they divide the fipoil.
I fhall afterwards take notice, That the time of the Mefliah was to
be diftinguifhed by an incredible abundance of fpiritual gifts : and fo
this fhall fuffice at prefent to prove that the Mefliah was to be a very
great Prophet.
CHAP. XVIII.
That the Messiah was to propound a new Covenant from God with all
Men.
THIS is a truth which is eafily gathered : 1. Becaufe all nations,
before they could be made partakers of the blefling of God by
the Mefliah (according to the promife made to Abraham"), were firft to
be received into the covenant ; 2. From the nature of that covenant
itfelf, of which Mcfes was the mediator, the end of which was, tofe-
parate the Jews from other nations, fome of which were not capable of
being received amongft them, till after feveral generations, whereas they
were to be made partakers of this blefling by th& Mefliah ; 3. Becaufe
in effect all the ceremonial law was only added to the moral, as it
were, contrary to God's principal intention, and only upon occafion of
C c 4 the
408 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVIII.
the Jews worfiiipping the gollen calf, as St. Paul obferves in the third
chapter of his epiltle to the Galatians (/).
Bt-fides, it appears that God at divers times had given fufficient hints
concerning this.
1. He had propofed a new priefthood of the Mefiiah, which was to
aboliih the Levitical piiefthood ; and this is the more remarkable, for-
afmuch as David, who pronounced that oracle, Pfalm ex. was he who
iirft formed the defigrt of building the temple, to which all the Levitical
fervice was annexed.
2. We find him rejecting in fome fort the Levitical miniftry, after he
had defpifed it in comparifon of the fpiritual worfhip. Pfalm xl. verf. 6.
Sacrifice and offering thou chdjl not deff c ; mine ears half thou opened : burnt-
offering and Jin-offering hajl thou not required. And Pfalm 1. verf. 8, 9,
JO. I will not reprove thee for thy facrifices or thy burnt-offerings, which
have been continually before me. 1 will take no bullocks out of thine houfe,
nor he-goats out of thy folds ; for every bea/t of the jorejt is mine, and the
cattle upon a thoufand hills. And Pfalm li. verfe 17. he tells us that the
facrifices of God are a broken fpirit ; in oppofition to the facrifices wl.ich
the Jaw prescribed, and to fignify their imperfection j the law having
appointed none for the expiation of murder or adultery,
Ifaiah follows David, chap. i. verf. 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. To what
purpoje is the multitude of your facrifices unto me P Jaith the Lord. J am full
of the burnt-Off'erir -s of rams, and the fat of fed bea/ls : and J delight not in
the blood of bullocks^ or of lambs, or of he-goats. When you come to appear
before me, who hath required this at your hands to tread my courts ? Bring
no r.iorc vain eolations ; incenft is an abomination unto me : the new moons
and fabbaths, the calling of affemblies, I cannot aivay with ; it is iniquity,
even the flcmn meeting. Tour new moons, and your appointed feafts, my foul
bateth: they are a trouble unto me ; / am tveary to bear tht.ru. And when
you fpread forth y.ur hands, I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when you
make many prayers, I will net hear : your hands are full of blood. And Je-
remiah fpeaks much to the lame purpofc, chap. vii. verf. 21, 22, and 23.
But befides, God directly promifeth this new covenant by Jjaiah,
chap. xlii. verf. 6, 7. / the Lord have called thee in righteoufiefs, and will
hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people,
for a light of the Gentiles ; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prifnei s
f cm lie pnfon, and them that fit in darknefsfrom the pr'ifn- houfe.
It is natural toobfeive, that in this place, where God (peaks of the
Meffiah, as the Jews themfelves confefs, he exprefsly declares two things:
I. That the Meffiah fhould be a covenant of the people, that is, that
he fhould mediate a covenant between God and the people ; 2. That the
fruit of this covenant was to extend to the Gentiles, which plainly im-
plies that ic was not the old covenant, forafmuch as from it feveral were
excluded.
The fame covenant is alfo mentioned, chap. xlix. verf. 8, 9. Thus
faith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day offal-
vat ion have J helped thee : and I will prefe>ve thee, and give thee for a cove-
nant of the people, to eftablijh the earth, to cdufe to inherit the deflate heri-
tages. That thou wayft fay to the pnfoners, Go forth; to them that are in
darknefs%
(;') Gal. iii. 19.
Ch. XVIII. Books of the Old Tef anient. 409
darknefs, Skew yourfclvcs. They fhall feed in the -ways , and their paflures Jhall
be in all high places.
He puifues the fame notion, chap. lv. verf. 3, 4. Incline your ear,
and come unto me ; hear, and your foul pall live ; and I will make an cver-
lajling covenant with you, the jure mercies of David. Behold, I have given
him for a witnefs to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Than
which, nothing can be more particular.
And to the fame purpofe he fpeaks, chap. lxi. verf. 8, 9. For I the
Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt-offering ; and I will direSi
their work in truth, and I will tnakr an ever lajling covenant with them. And
their feed Jhall be known among the Gentihs, and their offspring among the
people ; all that fee them Jhall acknowledge them, that they are the feed which
the Lord hath bleffed.
It is as clear as the day, that God in thefe oracles promifeth an irre-
vocable covenant, becaufe he calls it an everlajling covenant in oppofition
to the former. He takes notice ulfo in the fame book, that the faid
covenant was to be propounded in the midfr. of the nations, and that
then that bleffing of God fhould be known according to the ancient
oracles, which was promifed univerfally to all nations.
This is that which. God more particularly explains afterwards, by the
voice and pen of a Prophet who was of the order of Priefts, thereby to
prevent all forts of exceptions.
Jeremiah in effect fpeaks to the fame purpofe, chap. xxxi. verf. 31,
32, 33, 34, 35, and 36. Behold, the day is come, faith the Lord, that I will
?nake a new covenant with the houfe o/Tfrael, and with the houfe of Judah :
not according to the covenant thai I made zvith their fathers, in the duy that I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt (which my co-
venant they break, although J were a hufband to them, faith the Lord) j but
this Jhall be the covenant that I will make with the houfe ofli'rzel : After thofe
days, faith the Lord, 1 will put my law in their inward parts, and write it
in their heart; and I will be their God, and they J})all be my people. And they
Jhall teach no more every man his neighbour, faying, Know the Lord ; for they
Jhall alt know me, from the leaji of them unto the greatejl of them, faith the
Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and L will remember their fin no
more. Thus faith the Lord, which giveth the fun for a light by day, and the
ordinances of the moon and Jlars for a light by night, which divideth the fea
when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of HoJ'ts is bis name. If thofe ordi-
nances depart from before me, faith the Lord, then the feed 0/Ifrael afo Jhall
ceafe from being a ration before me for ever.
Nothing can be defired more particular than this oracle. 1. It tells us
that God would make a new covenant with his people, which fuppofes
an abolifhing of the former ; 2. That this covenant was not to be like
the foregoing ; 3. That the old covenant had been made vain, and had
been broken by thofe with whom it was made; 4. That this covenant
Was to be made after thofe days, that is, in the time of the Meffiah ; 5.
That this new covenant was not to be engraven in tables of (tone, but
in their hearts; 6. That in the fame covenant full remiffion of fin is
promifed.
The fame thing is alfo expreffed, chap, xxxii. verfe 40. And I will
make an everlafing covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them
to
4.10 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIX.
to do them good ; but I zvill put my fear in their hearts, and they Jhall not de-
fart from me. And, chap. 1. v. 5. "They Jh all ajk the way to Zion, with
their faces thitherward, faying, Come, and let us join ourjelvcs to the Lord
in a perpetual covenant, that Jhall not be forgotten.
To this purpofe alfo Ezekiel, who himfelf was a Prieft, fpeaks ofa
religious worfhip extended to all nations, and of a new covenant which
God was to make with them, chap. xvi. verfe 60, 61, 62. Nevertbelefs
I zvill remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will
ejlablijh unto thee an cverlajling covenant. Then thou fhalt remember thy
ways, and be afhamed, when thou fhalt receive thy fijlers, thy elder and thy
younger : and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
And I will cjiabiijh my covenant with thee ; and thou fhalt know that I am the
Lord.
Here is, firft, a covenant differing from the former; 2. a covenant
wherein other nations were to be included, clearly intimated by the elder
and younger Jijiers of the fynagogue; 3. a covenant whereby the Gen-
tiles were to enjoy the fame privileges with the Jews, and be incorpo-
rated with them.
Malachi follows the fteps of thefe Prophets, when he calls the Mefliah
the Angel of the covenant, chap. iii. verfe 1. Behold, I will fend my meffen-
ger, and he Jhall prepare the way before me : and the Lor i whom ye feek Jhall
fuddenly come to his temple; even the mcjjenger {Angel) of the covenant ,
whom ye delight in, behold he Jhall come, faith the Lord of Hojls. I know
very well that the Jews apply thofe words to Ellas, whole miniflry, as
they pretend, was to confift in leading the Jews to repentance. But if
we read the text with attention, we fhall find two meflengers mentioned ;
the firfr, to prepare the way of the Mefliah; and the other is the Mef-
iiah himfelf, who is called the Angel of the covenant, as being fent of God
to make a new covenant with men.
CHAP. XIX.
That the Jews, by a dreadful Ejfccl of their Elindncfs, were to rejeil
the Messiah.
THIS is a very peculiar mark, which will guide us furely to the
knowledge of the Meffiah. We find the Jews at this day very
ready to follow every one that ufurps that auguft title, and to take him
for the only true Mefliah that was promifed them; which is no other
than what was infallibly to come to pafs.
Neither will this much furprife us, if we confider, I. That this people,
on divers occafions, have given very ftrangc inftancesof a prodigious
biindnefs : we fee them reject Mofes, notwithstanding God had autho-
rifed his call by great and avowed miracles ; yea, we find them reje&-
ino; David alfo, whom God had fo fignally appointed to be their king,
and the father of the Mefliah, of whom we hear theie prophecies.
2. That
Ch. XIX. Books of the Old Teflament. 41 1
2. That God upbraids them with this blindnefs by his Prophets, as a
fin to which they were peculiarly inclined ; as appears from Pjalm Ixix.
verfc 23, 24, 25, 26, and 28- Let their eyes be darkened, that they fee not;
and mah their loins continually to Jhake. Pour out thine indignation upon
them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be
deflate, and none dwell in their tents. For they per fecute him whom thou hafl
fm'tten, and they talk to the grief of thofc whom thou hafl wounded. Add
iniquity to their iniquity ; and let them not come into thy righteoufnefs. Let
them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the
righteous.
One lees the fame thing in Ifaiah, chap, vi. verfe 9, 10, II, and 12.
where the Spirit of God foretels that the Jews fhould fhut their eyes
againfr. the moft evident and convincing proofs imaginable. Go, faith
the Lord to the Prophet, and tell this people, Hear y-e indeed, but under-
Jland not ; and fee ye indeed, but p.rceive not. Make the heart of this people
fat, and their ears heavy, and fhut their eyes ; left they fee with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and under (land with their hedrt and convert, and
be heated. Then [aid I, Lord, how long ? And he anfwered, Until the cities
he wafled without inhabitant, and the houfes without man, and the land be
utterly de folate : and the Lord have removed men far aivay, and there be a
great forfaking in the mid/l of the land.
Nothing can be imagined more particular than this oracle concerning
tbe Jews refiftmg the Prophet, which God expreiles in terms very ufual
amongif the Prophets ; as if Ifaiah, who was only the foreteller of their
being hardened, fhould himfeif be the caui'e of it.
The Prophet Hofca defcribes the very fame complaints of God againft
the Jeivs for then blindnefs and ignorance, for which he denounces their
deftruction. Hof iv. ve: fe 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Hear the word of the
Lord, ye children of Ifrael ; for the Loi'd has a controverfy with the inhabi-
tants of the land, becaufe there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God
in the land. By fwearing, and lying, and killing, and /lealing, and com-
mitting adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore f/jall
the land mown, and every one that dwelleth therein Jloall languifh, with the
bcafls of the field, and with the fowls of heaven ; yea, the fifhes of the fea alfo
Jhall be taken away. Yet let no manfl) ive or reprove another ; for thy people
are as they that jlr ive with the Priejl. Therefore fhalt thou fall in the day,
and the Prophet alfo fh all fall with thee in the night, and L will deflroy thy
mother. My people are defiroyed for lack of knowledge : becaufe thou haft
rejected knowledge, I will alfo rejecl thee, that thou fhalt be no Priefl to me ;
feeing thou hafl forgotten the law of thy God, I will alfo forget thy children.
The Prophet Jeremy (peaks to the fame purpole, chap. v. verfe 21,
22, and 23. Hear now this, 0 foolijh people, and zvithout underflanding\
which have eyes, and fee not ; vjhich have ears, and hear not. Fear ye not mey
faith the Lord f Will ye not tremble at my pre fence, who have placed the fancl
for the bound of the fea, by a perpetual decree that it cannot pafs it ; and though
the waves thereof t of tl >et can they not prevail ; though they roarK
yet can they not pa js over it ? But this people had a revolting and a rebellious
heart; they are revolted, and gone. And he reiterates the fame, chap. viii.
verfc 7 . The fork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times ; and the turtle
and
412 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIX.
and the crane, and the fiu allow, obfcrvetbe time of their coming : but my peo-
ple know not the judgment of the Lord.
Ezekiel profecutcs the lame matter, chap. ii. verf. 5 and 8. ca'ling
the J^ews a rebellious houfe. And chap. xii. verf. 1 and 2. he faith,
The word of the Lord cam: unto me, faying, Son cf man, thou dwelleft in the
midjt of a rebellious houfe, who have eyes to fee, end fee not, they have ears to
bear, and hear not, for they are a rebellious houfe.
Neither do the Prophets only reprefentto us in general the blindnefs
of the "Jews upon feveral occafions ; but they alfo very particularly in-
form us, that he who was the moft confiderable perfon of their ftate,
and the great minifter of God, fhould be notwithstanding rejected by
them.
And here, firft, It is worth our noting, that Mofes threatens the worft
of calamities to thofe who fhould refufe to hear the great Prophet,
like unto him whom God was to raife to his people, Deut. xviii.
verfe 18.
Secondly, David, Pfal/n cxviii. verfe 22. exprefTes this in thefe words,
Theftone which the builders refufed, is become the head of the corner. From
which words it is evident, 1. That the Meffiah was to be rejected ; 2.
That he was to be rejected by thofe who were intruded with the care of
building the houfe; 3. That this was to be before he fhould be acknow-
ledged the great Minifter of heaven.
God fpcaks the fame thing by ljaiah, chap, xxviii. verfe 16. Behold,
I lay in Eton for a foundation a Jlone, a tried ftone, a precious corner-jtone, a
fure foundation : he that believethf hall not make hafte. Which place is to
be underftood of the Meffiah, by the confeffion of the Jews thcmlelves.
Daniel follows the fame notion, chap. ii. verf. 34, 35. Thou faweft
till a ftone was cut out without hands, which f mote the image upon his feet,
and brake them to pieces : and the ftone became a great mountain, and filled
the earth.
On all which prophecies we may make thefe remark? : 1. That Jefus
Chrift quotes molt of them, as fuch, which by ihe Jews themfelves were
owned to refer to the Meffiah. Thus, Matt. xxi. verfe 42. he faith,
Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The J tone which the builders rejeclcd, the
fame is become the head of the corner. And St. Piter, Acts iv. verfe ir.
This is the ftone which was ft at nought by you builders, which is bccon.e the
head of the corner. St. Paul makes the fame allufion, Ephef. ii. verfe
20. And are built on the foundation of the Apoftles andProplets, Jfus Chrift
himfelf b.ing the chief corner -ftone. Anu I. Cor iii. verfe II. Fcr other
foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jefus Chrift. And
when Jefus Chrift himfelf faith unto Peter, Matt. xvi. verfe 18. Thou
art Peter, and. upon this rock I will build my church, &c. he alludes to
that of Daniel; Then was the iron, the clay, the brafs, the fiber, and the gold,
broLn to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the fummer threfhing
floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them :
and the ftone which f mote the image became a great mountain, and filled the
zvhole earth.
Our Saviour applies alfo to the Jews thofe prophecies which foretel
their being offended at the Mhlifters of heaven ; in particular that of
Jfaiah,
Ch. XX. Books of the Old Irftament. 413
IJaiab^ chap. vi. verfe 9. Go and tell this people. Hear ye indeed, but un-
! not, and fee ye indeed, but perceive not.
2. We may obfeive that the Jews of old applied thofe prophecies (as
the Apcftlcs did) to the hardening of their own nation ; as appears from
that of Sr. Paul, Rom. x. verfe 21. But to Ifrael" he faith, All the daylong
1 h roe ft retched forth my hand unto a dipbedient and gainlaying people.
3. We mull take notice, that the fume temper which was in the an-
cient Jews, who rejected the Prophets/ was found in thofe who lived at
the time cf our Saviour ; and for this, we need only to read the defcrip-
tion which Jofephus, de Bellojudaico, lib. vii. cap. 3. gives of them,
where he compares them with the Sodomites, which is the comparifon,
Ifaiah makes, chap. i. verfe 10.
And laft of all, we may take notice, That Jofephus acknowledges that
this blindnefs of the Jews was the caufe of the final deftrudtion of Je-
rufalcm, which was to fucceed the death of the Mefiiah, according to
the-exprefs oracle of Daniel, chap. ix. verfe 26.
CHAP. XX.
Thai the Messiah -was to die ; and an Account of the fever al Circumftances
of his Death.
TO be convinced of this truth, we need only prove that what is
let down in Pfalm xx\\. Ifaiah liii. Daniel ix. and Zachariah xiii.
and other prophetical pafiages of holy Scripture, is to be understood of
the A'Tefliah ; and the reading of them alone is fufficient to Satisfy the
meaneft capacity, that the perfon they point at was to loie his life by
violence, with feveral very infamous circumftances.
Now it is certain that both ancient and modern Jews interpret thefe
places of the Mefiiah ; and it is as evident that the Apoftles understood
them fo ; and therefore ail along applied them to Jefus Chrift, follow-
ing therein the known explications of the Rabbies of their own nation.
It is plain alfo, that the death and fuffering of our Saviour would
have proved a more efficacious argument to refute the Apoftles, than all
the miracles of Jefus Chrift could have been to eftabliih their doctrine,
if the prophetical writings had not fo precifely determined his Sufferings
and death, with the feveral circumftances of them.
It is alfo to be noted, that the prophecies referring to the death of ihe
Meffiah are generally interwoven with ideas which point to other pro-
phetical paffages avowedly owned by the Jews to have relation to the
Meffiah. Thus, if we compare Pfalm xxii. verfe 28. with Pfalm lxxii.
verf. 8, 9. we fhall find the fame idea fet forth in them both.
And becaufe this character was to be the moft proper and diftinguifli-
ing note of the Mefiiah, forafmuch as none with pleafure do precipitate
themfelves into death, or are mafiers of the manner and circumftances
of
414 Reflexions upon the Ch. XX.
of it, therefore God caufed the fame to be exprefTed by the Prophets
with the grcatelt plainnefs and txactnefs poffible.
It cannot be denied but that fome of the Prophets have been very
cruelly pcrfecuted, and that fome of them have died in the midft of tor-
ments : but concerning the death of Chnft we have many more parti-
culars, viz.
1. That he was to be forfaken by his own friends, Pfalm xxii. verfc
IT. Be not far f rem me. for trouble Is near ; for there Is time to help. And
Pfulm ixix. verfe 1 1. I made fackcloih alfo my garment, and I became a
proverb to them. And, verfe 20. Reproach has broken my heart, and lam
full of heavinefs ; and I looked for fome to take pity, but there was none ; and
for comforters, but I found none.
2. That he was to be cxpofed to all manner of reproachful ufage.
P/alrn xxii. verfe 6, 7, snd 8. But lam a worm, and no man ; a reproach
of men, and defpifed of the people. All they that fee me, laugh me to [com :
they f hoot out the tip, they j 'hake the head, faying, He tr lifted in the Lord that
he would deliver him ; let him deliver him, feeing he delighted in him. And
Pfalm ixix. \er(e 1, 2, 3; 4 Save me, 0 God, for the waters are come in
unto my foul. I fink in deep mire, where there is no fan ding ; I am come into
deep waters, where the foods overflow me. ,1 am weary of my crying : my
throat is dried : mine eyes fail, while I wait for my God. They that hate me
-without caufe are more than the hairs of my head; they that would deflroy me,
being my enemies wrongfully, arc mighty.
The fame is reprdented to us, lfaiah liii. verfe 4,5. Surely he hath borne
tur grief s, and carried our forrows ; yet we did cfieem him flricken, fmittcn
cf God, and afflitled. But he was zvounded for our tranfgrcjfions, he was
bruifcdfor our iniquities ; the chaflifancnt of our peace was upon him : and
with his ). ripes we are healed.
3. They take notice that he fhould be beaten and abufed, as appears
from lfaiah liii. verfe 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. He is defpifed and rejected of men ;
a man of forrows, and acquainted with gi'if: and we hid, as it were, cur faces
from him : he was defpifed, and we c) 'leaned him not. Surely he hath borne
cur griefs, he was wounded for our tranfgreffions, &c. The Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all. He was epprcjjed, and he was aflided, yet he
opened not his mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the flaughtcr ; and as afheep
before her f hearers is dumb, fo he openeth net his mouth. He was cut off
f cm the laud of the living ;for the tranfgrcjfion of my people was heftricken.
4. They declare that hi- fhould be ibid. Zcch. x;. verfe 12 and 13. Aid
J /aid unto them, If ye think good, g'n c me my price ; and if not, forbear : fo they
vhedfor my price thirty pieces of fiver. And thi Lord J aid unto me, Cafl it
wen
unto thi potter ; a ipedly price that I was prized at of them. And L took the
thirty pieces cf fiver, and cofi them to the potter, in the houfe of the Lord.
5. They make mention of his being condemned by the Jews and
Heathens. Pfalm ii. verfe 2. The kings of the earth fet themfelyes and the
rulers take counjcl together, again ft the Lord and againjl his anointed. And
Pfalm xxii. verfe 16. For dc'gs have compaffed me, the affemblyof the
wicked have inch fed me ; they pierced my hands and my feet. And Pfalm Ixix.
verfe 12. They that Jit in the gatefpeak againf me, and I was the Jong of the
drunkards. And lfaiah liii. verfe 8. He was taken from prifon and from
judgment :
Ch. XX. Books of the Old Teflament. 415
judgment : and ivhofball declare his generation ? for he was cut off from the
land of the living, for the tranfgrefjion of my people was he Jlricken.
6. They Iptcify his death on the crois. Pjahn xxii. verfe 16. They
pierced my hands and my feet. And Zcch. xii. verfe 10. And they Jball look
upon me whom they have pierced.
7. They intimate his dying between thieves. Ifaiah liii. verfe 12.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he Jhall dzvid
fpoil with the flrong ; hc:aufe he has poured out his foul unto death, and was
numbered with tranfgreffors.
8. They take notice of his being mocked before his death. Pfalm
xxii. verfe 6, 7, 8. But Tarn a ivorm, and no man ; a reproach of men, and
defpifed of the people. All they that fee me, laugh me to f corn ; theyfjjoot out
the Up, they f hake the head, &cc. And Pfalm ixix. vene 17, 18, 19. Hide
not thy face from thy fcrvant, for I am in trouble ; hear me fpeedily. Draw
nigh unto my foul, and redeem it : deliver me, becaufc of mine enemies. Thou
hafl known my reproach, myjhame, and my di/honour : mine adverfaries are
oil before thee.
9. That they who put him to death fhould divide his garments. Pfalm
xxii. verfe 18. They part my garments amongfl them, and cafl lots upon my
veflure.
10. That the Mefliah fhould complain that God had forfaken him in
the hands of his enemies. Pfalm xxii. verfe 1, 2. My God, my God,
why hafl thou forfaken me P why art thou fo far from helping me, and fa: 1
the words of my rearing ? 0 my God, I cry in the day time, and thou hcarejl
me not ; and in the night feafon am not f lent.
11. That they would give him vinegar and gall to drink. Pfalm
lxix. verfe 21. They gave me alfo gall for my meat, and in my thirfl they
gave me vinegar to drink.
12. They fet before our eyes the manner of his death on the crofs.
Pfahn xxii. verfe 14, 15, 16, 17. / am poured out like water, and all my
bones are out of joint : my heart is like wax, it is melted in the midft of my
bowels. JAy flrcngth is dried up like a petfherd, and my tongue cleaveth to
my jaws : and thou haft brought me into the dufl of death. For dogs have
compaffed me, the affembly of the v/icked have enclofed me ; they pierced my
hands and my feet . I may tell all my bones : they look and flare upon me. And
Ifaiah Yi'ii. verfe 7, 8, 9.
13 That not one of his bones fhould be broken. Pfalm xxxiv. verfe
20. He keepeth all his bones ; not one of them is broken.
14. That he was to be buried in the fepulchre of a rich man. Ifaiah
Jiii. verfe 9. He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his
death ; becaufe he had done no violence, neither was deceit found in his
■mouth.
We may make thefe following reflexions on the foregoing oracles.
1. That here are many very different events and circusnflances, all
meeting in the fame end.
2. That many of thefe paflages that might be queflioned whether they
were particularly applicable to the Mefliah, are joined with fuch hints
?,s can noway agree with the Prophets that uttered them. Thus we find
that in the xxnd Pfalm there are many expreflions which cannot be
applied to David.
5. That
41 6 Reflexions upon the Ch. XXI.
3. That moft of thefe prophecies are avowedly attributed totheMef-
fiah by the moft ancient authors of the Synagogue. And the modern
Jew s themfelves refer them to fome that fufFered a violent death, as to
Rabbi Akiba, who died in the fecond century.
4. That the Apoftles unanimoufly applied them to Jefus Chrift, the
true Meiliah, following therein the general content of their nation-
F
chap. xxr.
That the Messiah wasfoon after to rife again,
ORASMUCH as death entered into the world by fin, and that
the Mefliah was to take it away, we may eafily conceive, that if
the Mefliah were, according to the Divine difpofal, to fubmit to death,
he could not long continue fubjedt to it. He who was to reftore
life to thofe who were dead, could never be confined and imprifoned
in a grave : and he who was fuperior to Enoch and Ellas, who afcended
into heaven, becaufe he alone was exalted to the right hand of God,
to reign there for ever, as the prophecies concerning him allure us,
ought certainly to leave his fepulchre by a glorious refurreclion.
And this we are pofitively allured of by the ancient oracles. P faint
xvi. verf. 10, II. Thou wilt not leave my Joul in hell; neither wilt thou
fujfer thine holy one to fe corruption. Thou wilt Jhew me the path of life ; in
thy prefence is fulnefs of joy, at thy right hand there are plea fur es for evermore.
And to allure us that thefe and the like pafiages are applicable to none
but the Mefliah, we find in the fame Pfahns expreflions too high to be
applied to the authors themfelves : as for example, Pfalm xxx. verf. I,
1, 3. / will extol thee, O Lord, for thou haft lifted me up, and haft not
made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, 1 cried unto ihee, and thou
haft healed me. O Lord, thou haft brought up my foul from the grave, thou
haft kept me alive, that I Jhould not go down to the pit. And Pfalm xli.
verf. 8, 9, 10. An evil difeafe, fay they, cleaveth faft unto him ; and now that
he lieth, he Jhall rife up no more. Tea, mine own familiar friend in whom I
trujted, which did eat of my bread, hath lift up his heel againft me. But thou,
0 Lord, be merciful unto me, and raife me up, that I may requite them. And
Pfalm xlix. verf. 15. But God will redeem my fold from the power of the
grave, for he Jhall receive me. Pfalm lvi. verf. II, 12, 13. Ju God have
1 put my truft, L will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are
upon me, O God, I will render praife unto thee. For thou haft delivered my
foul from death, &c. Pfalm Ixxi. verfe 20. Thou ivho haft Jhewed me
great and fore trouble. J/ja't quicken me again, ana Jhalt bring me up again
from the depths of the earth. Pfalm cxliii. verf. II, 12. Quicken me, O
Lord, for thy name's fake, for thy rightcoufnefsfake bring myful out of trow '
•Ch. XXI. Books of the Old Teflament. 417
ble : and of thy mercy cut off mine enemies , and dcjlroy all them that afflicl
my foul, for I am thy fervanU
Hofca fpeaks to the fame pur pofe, chap. xiii. verfe 14. I wilt ranfom
them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death. 0 death,
I will be thy plagues ; 0 grave, I will be thy dejlruclion : repentance f hall be
hid from mine eyes.
Ijaiah expreiles the very fame thing, chap. xxv. verfe 8. He willfwal-
low up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all
faces ; and the rebuke of his people f ball he take from off all the earth ; for the
Lord hath fpoken it. Ami yet more exprefsly, chap. liii. verf. 10 and 11.
1 et it pleafed the Lord to bruife him ; he hath put him to grief : when thou,
Jhalt make his foul an offering for Jin, hefball fee his feed, he fhall prolong
his days, and the plcafure of the Lord fhall profper in his hand. He f ball fee
of the travel of his foul, and f ball be fatisfied : by his knowledge fhall my
righteous fervant juftfy many ; for he f ball bear their iniquities.
For the better underftanding of which paiTages, we are to obferve,
I. That the Me ilia h, in many or moll of them, comprifeth all believers
with himfelf, according to that maxim of the Jews, who attribute to
the Meffiah, the greatelf of all the Prophets, whatfoever God vouchfafed
to any one of the Prophets ; and according to this principle Jefus Chrift
fpeaks, Matth. xii. verf. 39, 40. An evil and adulterous generation feeketh
after afign, and there fuall no Jig n be given to it, but the fign of the Prophet
Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly,
fo Jhalt the Jon of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth.
2. That upon this account the Meffiah is reprefented to us, not as
rifing again alone, but as making all his brethren partakers of the fame
glory ; which makes the Prophets fpeak of him, not as a tingle perfon,
but in common with others, who by him are made poirefTors of" the fame
advantages.
3. That mod of thefe texts are quoted by the Apoftles, who in (o
doing followed the fenfe of the whole nation, as appears from AJfs ii.
verf. 24, 25, 2&, 27, 28, and 29. Whom God hath raijed, having locfed the
pains of death ; becaufe it was not pcfftble that he Jhould be holdenof it. For
David fpeakeih concerning him, I forefazv the Lord always before my face,
for he is at my right hand, that I Jljould not be moved. Therefore did my heart
rejoice, and my tongue ivas glad : moreover alfo my flejh fhall rejl in hope : be-
caufe thou wilt not leave my foul in Hell, neither wilt thou fuffer thy holy one
to fee corruption. Thou hajt made known to me the ways of life : thou Jhalt
make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and, brethren, let me freely
fpeak unto you of the Patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and
his Jepuicbre is with us unto this day. And Acls xiii. verf. 30, 31, 32, 33,
34, 35, 36, and 37. But God raijed him from the dead. And he was jeen
many days of them which came up with him /r<?;«Galilee rcjerufalem, who are
his witneffes unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that
the promife which was made untj the fathers, God bath fulfilled the fame unto
us their children, in that he hath raijed up Jefus again \ a+ it is alfo written
in the fecondV(a\m, Thou art my fon, this day have I begotten thee. And as
concerning that he raifed him upfront the dead, now no more to return to cor-
ruption, he faid on this wife, I will give you the fure mercies of David.
Vol. I. Dd Whtrt-
418 Refexions upon the Ch. XXII.
Wherefore he faith a!fo in another Pfalm, Thou Jim It not fuffer thine holy one
to fee corruption. For David, after he hadferved his own generation, by the
will of God fell afitep, and was gathered to his fathers, and faw corruption.
But he whom God raifed again f faw no corruption.
In like manner we find St. Paul alluding to that of Hofca xiii. verfe
J 4. m I. Cor. xv. verfe 55. 0 death, where is thy fling ? 0 grave, where
is thy viclcry ?
CHAP. XXII.
7 rat the Messiah was to afcendinto Heaven, and fend down from thence the
miraculous gifts of Prophecy, Languages, &c.
THIS was a thing which might rationally enough be expected (b) ;
for the Mefliah being to refemble Mofes, who had not only the
gifts of the holy fpirit himfelf, but alfo in a manner communicated the
fame to the heads of the congregation of Ifrael, it was reafonable to
infer, that the Median was to receive much more eminent gifts, and to
communicate them to far greater numbers.
But befides this, God had exprefsly promifed it by David, Pfalm ex.
verf. I, 2. where he reprcfents the Mefliah fitting at the right hand of
God. The Lord [aid unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until L make
thine enemies thy footftool. The Lord f ball fend the rod of thy Jlrength out of
Zion : Rule thou in the midji of thine enemies.
It is worth our noting, that Daniel reprefents to us the fame notion,
where he fpeaks of the kingdom of the Mefliah, chap. vii. verf. 13, 14.
1 fazv in the night vifions, and behold, one like the fon of man came with the
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near
before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom,
that all people, nations and languages fhould fcrve him : his dominion is an
everlafling dominion, which J 'hall not pafs away, and his kingdom that which
f hail not be defrayed. Where doth God dwell, unlefs in heaven .?
David exprell'es himfelf in terms which import fomething too great
to be applied to the fymbolical ark of the covenant, Pfalm xxiv. verf. 7,
8, 9. Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates ; and be ye lift up, ye ever la/ling doors j
and the king of glory f hall come in. Who is this king cf glory ? The Lordjirong
and mighty , the Lord mighty in battle, Sec.
He fpeaks further of the glorious kingdom of the Mefliah, Pfalm xlv.
verf. 5,6,7. Thine arrows arc fharp in the heart of the king'' s enemies;
whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever :
the fceptre of thy kingdom is a right fecptre. Thou lovcjl rightcoufnejs, and
hat if I wickednejs 4 therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladnefs above thy fellows. It is evident that David addreiles himfelf
there to the Mefliah, becaufe he iryles him a God anointed above his fel-
lows,
(£) Deut. xviii. 18,
Ch. XXIT. Books of the Old Tefiament. « 419
lows. And he purfues the fame idea, Pfalm Ixviii. verfe 18. Thou hafl
afccnded on high, thou hafl led captivity captive ; thou hajl received oifts for
men, yea for the rebellious a/fo, that the Lord God might dwell amongjl
them. Nothing can be imagined more exprefathan theie words, which,
lively reprefem to us the afcenfion or' ^the Mefliah, and the pouring
forth of prophetical gifts, to bring the heathens to the fervice of
God.
Ifaiah fpeaks the fame, chap. xliv. verfe 3. For I will pour water upon
him that is thirfly, and floods upon the dry ground : I will pour my fpirit upon
thy feed, and my blcjfing upon thine offspring. The waters here fpoken
of, according to the ordinary ityle of the Prophets, are nothing elfe but
the Graces of God's Spirit.
Joel expreffes himfelf very plainly in this matter, chap. ii. verfe 28,
29, ;-;o, 31, 32. And itjhallcome to pafs afterward, that I will pour out of
my fpirit upon allflejh, and your fons and your daughters Jhall prophefy, your
old men Jhall dream dreams, your young men Jhall fee vijions. And alfo upon
the fervants, and upon the handmaids in thofe days will I pour out my fpirit.
And I willfljcw wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and
pillars oj * J 'moke. The fun Jhall be turned into darknefs, and the moon into blood,
before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it Jhall come to pafs ,
that whofi ever Jhall call on the name of the Lord, Jhall be delivered : for in
mount Zion, and in Jerufalem, Jhall be deliverance, as the Lord hath faid,
and in the remnant whom the Lord Jhall call.
Nothing can be conceived more particular than this oracle, concern-
ing the efFufion of the prophetical gifts upon the fervants of the Mefliah,
after his afcenfion. For, 1. He clearly hints at the feveral ways of pro-
phecy which lhall be beftowed upon the fubje&s of the Mefliah ; 2.
That this sreat event was to be before the deft ruction of Jerufalem,
which St. Peter foretels as a thing at the door, Ael. ii. verf. 30, 31, 32.
After he had fhewed that the wonderful efFufion of the Spirit at Pentecoft
was a literal accomplifhing of the prophecy of Joel, he adds, Therefore
being a Prophet, and knowing that God had fworn with an oath to him, that
of the fruit of his loins, according to the fief h, he would raife up Chr'ifl toft
on his throne : he feeing this before, /pake of the refurreclion of Chrifl, that
his foul was not left in hell, neither hisflejh did fee corruption. This Jefus has
God raifed up, whereof we all are witvelfes.
Ezekiel goes on with the lame views with Joel, chap, xxxvi. verf.
26 and 27. A new heart alfo will I give you, and a new fpirit will I put
within you ; and I will take av:a\' thefionv heart out of your flcjh , and 1 will
give you an heart offlejh. And I will put my fpirit within you, and caufe you
to walk in my flatutes ; and ye fh all keep my judgments, and do them. And
chap, xxxix. verfe 29. Neither will 1 hide my face any more from them :
for I have poured out my fpirit upon the houfe of ifrae) , faith the Lord God.
And Zcchanah agrees vvitn both the foregoing; Prophet*, chap. xii.
verfe 10. And I will pour upon the houfe. o/"David," and upon the inhabitants
of Jeru falem, the fpirit of grace and of fupplications ; and they Jhall look upon
him whom they have pierced, and they Jhall mourn for him as one mcurneth
for his only fori, and Jhall be in bitternefs for him as one that is in bittcrnefs for
his firjl-born.
h :s obvious to make thefe following obfervations upon thole oracles.
D1I2 <• That
420 Reflexions upon the Ch. XXIII.
1. That the Mefliah was to be raifed ;bjve the reach of any of his
enemies
2. That he was to afcend to heaven, and to be inflated there in
glory, in order to his being dignified and glorified above all nations.
3. That he was from thence to fend down prophetical graces plenti-
fully, which made his entrance into heaven a kind of triumph.
4. That this great event was to precede the deftru&ion of Jerufalem,
to which the Prophet Joel in the fore-cited place feems to allude. . The
Meffidh was to form a new fociety, which was to be regulated, not by
the laws givm on mount Sinai, but by thofe which were to be publifhed
from mount Zion.
CHAP. XXIII.
^Thai /^Gentiles in the Time of the Messiah were to he called to the
Knowledge of the true God.
THIS article being one of the mod important and moil vifible cha-
racters of the times of the Mefliah, and alfo the great effect of his
miniftry, we fee that God had a particular care to divulge the fame by
a multitude of prophetical reprefentations of it.
For not only had he declared that the feed of the woman JJmdd Iruife the
ferpent's head (/) ; that is, the works of the Devil. And we cannot deny,
but that the errors and idolatries of the Gentiles, and their vices which
arife from thence, were the fruits of iin, which this unhappy fpirit
brought into the world. It was not only foretold that God would per-
fitade Japhet to dwell in the tents c/Sem [m), by uniting the posterities of
both thofe Patriarchs in one and the fame religion. Not only had he
fignified that the Mefliah fhould reign over the children of Scth, that
is, over all the poiterity of Noah, the offspring of Cham not excepted ;
not only had he foretold that all nations, kindreds, and families, fhould
beblefled in the Mefliah («).
But God went much farther afterwards ; for, as the light of the reve-
lation increafed, fo the fame was declared more diftinctly. For,
1. The Patriarch Jacob tells that the Mefliah fhould be the defire and
expectation of all nations. Gen. xlix. verfe 10. The fceptrcJJndl not depart
"from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between hh feet, until Shiloh come ; and
unto him fliall the gathering of the people be.
2. Mofes threatens the Jews, that if they defpifed the law of God,
ftrangers, that^s, Gentiles, mould be preferred before them. Dent.
xxviii. verfe 43- The Jh anger that is within thee flmll get up above thee
"very high ; and thou Jh a It come down very low. The lame Prophet me-
naceth them from God, that h: would ftir up their jealoufy, by calling
a fojiiili
(/) Gen.iii. 15. (m) Gen. ix. 27,
(«) Gen. xii. & Ch. xviii. & xxii.
Ch. XXIII. Books of the Old Teftament. 421
a foolifh people to his fervice and worfhip. Deut. xxxii. verfe 21. They
have moved me to jealoujy with that which is not God, they have provoked me
to anger with their vanities ; and 1 ivill move them to jealoufy with thofe
which are not a people, I will provoke them to anger with a foolijl) nation.
Nothing can be faid more exprefs and particular than thele lalt words
of that great lawgiver and founder of the Mate of the Jews.
3. David fets forth the empire of the Meffiah, as that which was to
reach over all the earth. Pfalm ii. verfe 8. Ajk of me, and J Jhall give
thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermo/i parts of the earth for
thy poffeffion. And P/alm xxii. verf. 27, 28, 29, 30. All the ends of the
world Jhall remember and turn unto the Lord ; and all the kingdoms of the
nations Jhall worfhip before thee. For the kingdom is the Lordi's, and he is
Governor arnong/l the nations. Ail th:y that be fat upm the earth, Jhall eat
and worfhip ; all they that go down to the dujl, jhall bow before him. A feed
Jhall ferve him ; itfhallhe accounted to the Lord for a generation. Pfalm Ixxii.
verf. 8, 9, 10, 1 1 . He Jhall have dominion from fea to fea, and from the river
unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilder nejs Jhall bow before
him ; and his enemies Jhall lick the dujh The kings of Tarfhifh and of the
ifle; Jhall bring prejents, the kings of Sheba and Seba Jhall offer gifts. Teay
all kin^s Jhall fall down before him, all nations (hall ferve him. Which pro-
phecy is the more remr.rkable, becaufethe promifemade to Abraham is
there repeated in fo many words, viz. That all nations of the earth foould
be bleffea in the Mejfiah. Pfalm cii. verfe 15. So the heathen Jhall fear the
name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. And Pfalm ex.
verfe 2. The Lord JJjall fend the rod of thy fir en gth out of Zion : rule thou
in the mid/l of thine enemies. One ought to transcribe almofl: the whole
book or Pfalms, to take notice of all the paflages which are to this purpofe.
The Prophet Hofea declares in general terms, That it was not an im-
poffible thing for thofe who had been God's people, to ceafe to be fo ;
or for thofe that were not his people, to become his people ; chap. i.
verfe 10. Yet the number of the children of Ifrael Jhall be as the fand of the
fea, which cannot be meafured or numbered ; and it Jhall come to pafs, that in
the place where it was faid unto them, Te are not my people, there it Jhall be
faid unto them, Te arc thefons of the living God.
I/aiah mentions this fo often, and in fuch an emphatical manner, that
it feems to be the main thing he drives at in ail his writings. Chap. ii.
verf. 2, 3. he fpeaks thus : And it Jhall come to pafs in the lofi days that the
mountain of the Lord's houfe Jhall be ejlablifhed in the top of the mountains,
and Jhall be exalted above the hills, and all nations Jhall flow unto it. And
many people Jhall go and fay, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, to the houfe of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion fliall go forth the law, and the
word of the Lord from Jerufalem. And chap. xi. verfe 10. In that day
there Jhall be a root of JelTe, which Jhall ft and for an enfign of the people, to it
Jliall the Gentiles Jeek. And, chap, xviii. verfe 7, he makes a mamfeft
alluiion to the expeclation of all nations. In chap. xlii. verfe I, 2. 3, 4.
he repeats the fame thing: Behold my fervant w'^om J uphold, mine eleel
in whom my foul delighteth ; 1 will put myfpirit upon him, he Jhall bring
forth judgment to the Gentiles. He Jhall not cry, nor lift u[>, nor cauje his
voice to be heard in the fir ctti, A bruifed reed Jhall he not break, and the
D d 3 fmoking
422 R flexions upon the Ch. XXII I.
fmoking flax Jhall he net quench : hejhall bring forth judgment unto the earth ;
and the l/les Jball wait for his law. Chap. I v. verf 4,5. Behold, I have
given thee for a witne/s of the people, a leader and a commander to the people.
Behold, thou /halt call a nation that thou know eft not, and nations that knew
not thee Jball run unto thee, becauje of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One
of {{rati, for he hath glorified thee. But one fees thele truths in their
greateft luftre in the Ixih chap, of his prophecies, verf. 3, 4, 5. The Gen-
tiles Jhall come to thy light, and kings to the brightnefs of thy rifling. Lift up
thine eyes roundabout, and Jcc : all that gather them [elves together, they come
to thee ; thy fonsfhall come from far, and thy daughters /hall be nurfed at thy
Jide. Then thou Jhalt fee andjhine, and thine heart Jhall fear and be enlarged,
becaufe the abundance of the Jea Jhall be converted unto thee, the forces of the
Gentiles Jhall come unto thee. Am chap. ]xii. verfe 2. The Gentiles
Jhall fee thy rightcoufnefs, and all kings thy glory : and thou Jhalt be called
by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord Jhall name. And verf. 11 and
12. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the ends of the world, Say ye to the
daughter of Zion, Behold, thy falvation cometh ; behold, his reward is with
him, and his work is before him. And they Jhall call them the holy people ,
the redeemed of the Lord. And thou Jhalt be called Sought out, A City notflor-
Jaken. And chap. lxv. verfe 1. Lam fought of them that afkednotfor me ; I
' am found of them that fought me not : I /aid, Behold me, behold me, unto a
nation that was not called by my name. And chap. lxvi. verfe 18. It Jhall
come to pafs, that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they Jhall come
and fee my glory.
Amos (who was contemporary with Ifaiah) fpeaks the fame thing,
chap. ix. verf. 11, 12. In that day will I raije up the tabernacle of David
which is fallen, and c'fle up the branches thereof 3 and I will raife up his
ruins , and I will build it, as in the days of old. That they may pojjejs the
remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen^ which are called by my name,
faith the Lord which doth this.
The Prophet Micah alfo follows the Prophet Ifaiah flep by ftep. Mich.
iv. verf. I, 2, ?. But in the laji days it Jhall come to pafs, that the mountain
of the houfe of the Lord Jhall be eftablijhed in the top of the mountains, and it
Jhall be exalted above the hills, and people Jhall flow unto it. And many na-
tions Jhall come and fay, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
and to the houfe of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his tuays, and %ve
will walk in his paths : for the law Jtiall go forth of Zion, and the word of
the Lord from Terufalem. And he Jhall judge among many people, and rebuke
Jlrong nations afar off"; and they fhad beat their J words into plough -Jhares, and
their fpears into pruning-hooks : nation Jhall not lift up a fword againfl nation,
neither Jhall they learn war any more.
Zephaniah is as clear as any of the reft, chap. ii. verfe 11. They Jhall
worjhip him, every one from his place, even all the if/es of tie heathen. And
chap. 3, verf. t), 10. Then will J turn to the people a pure language, that
they n.ay all call upon the name of the Lord, to Jerve him. with one confent.
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my fupplianlsy the daughter of my dif-
fer fed, Jhall bring mine offering.
Jeremiah, in the fourth chapter of his prophecies, verfe 2. confirms the
faniL- cruth ; as likewife chap. xvi. verfe 19. and more exprefsly chap,
xxxi. verfe 34. And they Jhall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every
3
CH. XXIII. Books of the Old Teftament. 423
every man his brother, faying, Know the Lord; for they Jball all know mt*
from the leaf of them unto the great eft of them, faith the Lord.
After the return of the captivity, we find that the Prophets (till pur-
fued the fame ideas. Haggai ii. verf. 7,8. And 1 will j 'hake all nations,
arid the def re of all nations f ball come : and I will f II (his houfe with glory,
faith the Lord of Hofts. The fiver is mine, and the gold is mine, faith the
ford of Hofts.
Zeehariah fpeaks in like manner, chap. ii. verf. 10, 11. Sing and re-
joice, 0 daughter of Zion ; for lo, L come, and L will dwell in the mid/1 of
thee, faith the Lord. And many nations f ball be joined to the Lord in that day,
and Jball be my people ; and I will dwell in the midjl of thee, and thou fbalt
know that the Lord of Hojis Oath fent me unto thee. And chap. vni. verf.
20, 21, 22. Thus faith the Lord of Hofts, Ltf ball yet come to pafs, that there
Jball come people, and the inhabitants of many cities : and the inhabitants of one
city f ball go to another, faying, Let us go Jpeedily to pray before the Lord, and
to jcek the Lord of Ho/Is : J will go alfo. Tea, many people and ft rang nations
Jball come tofeek the Lord of Hefts in Jerufalem, and to pray before the Lord.
And chap. ix. ver. 10. he exprefTes the fame thing more diftincfcly. And
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horfe from Jerufalem, and
the battle-bow f hall be cut off: and he fball fpeak peace unto the heathen ; and
his dominion fball befromfea to fa, and from the river unto the ends of the
earth.
Malachi fpeaks to the fame purpofe with the greater!: clearnefs imagi-
nable, chap. i. verf. 10, 11. Who is there among you that Jbuts the doors,
or kindles fire on mine altar for nought ? 1 have no pleafure in you, faith the
Lord of Hofts, neither will L accept an offering at your hand : for from the
fifing of the fun, even unto the going down of the fame, my name fball be great
among the Gentiles ; and in every place incenfe Jball be offered unto my name,
and a pure offering : for my name fball be great among the heathen, faith the
Lord of Hofts .
On all which paffages one may make thefe obfervations :
1. That all this whole feries of ideas hath as much connexion to
one another, as the words of thofe oracles have which we have now
alledged.
2. i hat thefe Prophets have fet it forth with all its poflible characters,
by the original of thefe people, calling them the children of Seth, by
their countries, Egypt, Afjyria, the Eafl and Weft ; by their idolatry,
by their averfion to the Jews, their ignorance, &c.
3. That thefe prophecies were generally underftood by the Jews of
old, of the calling of the Gentiles, as appears from the ufe the Apoilles
made of them when they preached to the Gentiles.
4. That forafmuch as God had ordered profelytes to be received into
the Jewifh communion, he feemed thereby to have hinted to them, that
what he had enjoined them as to particulars, ought with much more
reafon to be practifed in general to ail the nations of the world, and
ought alio to be univerfally defired.
5. That the modern Jews themfelves conftantly believed, that the
Meffiah fhould lead the Gentiles to repentance. So Kimchi, Mofes,
jllaimonides, and many other author?, fince the Talmudfts.
t>. That the opinion which the Jews have entertained, that the Mef-
D d 4 f,ah,
424 Reflexions upon the Ch. XXIV.
fiah, as a great conqueror, was to fubdue the nations, proceeds only
from the fenfe of the oppreffion they have been, and (till are, under,
which makes them To earneftly defire a temporal deliverance from the
power of the Gentiles, by means of the Mefliah. : and the pompous ex-
preflions of fome of the Prophets have ftrengthened this belief in them ;
though they cannot deny but that the fame prophetical pafTages do imply
that the Mefliah was to Subject the Gentiles by the way of inlrru&ion.
CHAP. XXIV.
That the Jews were to be rejccled in the Time of the Messiah.
THERE are three things which make this particular very con-
siderable.
The firft is, That it feems altogether oppofite to the defign of God,
who was entered into covenant with the Jews, excluding all other
nations of the earth.
The fecond is, That nothing ever was a greater fcandal to the Jews
than the thoughts of a poflibility that God Should ever call off their
nation.
The third is, That the rejection of the Jews feemed lefs poffible in
the time of the Mefliah, than at any other time ; the Mefliah being,
according to their perfualion, to procure the falvation of the Jiws in
the fir ft place, and before other nations were made partakers of thofe
bleflings which he brought along with him.
And it was upon this account that God hath forgot nothing which
might make thole oracles that relate to the rejection of the Jews, in the
time of the Mefliah, very fenfible.
The chief privileges which made the Jews confider themfelves as
God's peculiar people, were thefe.
1. God himfetf was in a peculiar manner their king and Sovereign j
which gave Jofephus occafion to call their ftate a theocracy.
2. Their religious fervice did wholly depend upon God, who had
inftituted their order of prietthood.
3. God had placed them in a country by themfelves, and Separated
them from all other nations.
4. God had given them the Urim and Tbummim, which gave them an
infallible refolution in all important cafes happening to their ftate j
which was an evident mark of the Divine prefence and direction.
5. God gave them particular marks of his blcfling, the extraordinary
fruitfulnefs which continually ufiVred in their fabbatical year ; the Se-
curity which they enjoyed during their three folemn feafts ; and above
all, the deliverers which he from time to time railed up for them, their
fourteen judges and kings.
J ° ° At
And
Ch. XXIV. Books of the Old TeJlament. 425
And God alfo threatened them with evils oppofite to thefe bleflings;
and all this is denounced againft them ftep by ftep.
1. He declares that he would no longer be their God.
2. That he would abolifh and reject their order of priefthood, which
was accordingly executed by degrees.
3. That he would turn them out of their own country, without re-
covery.
4. That they fhould have no more Prophets or revelations.
5. That he would take away from them all the marks of his protec-
tion. The paflages exprefling thefe feveral particulars are here fubjoined,
which may be eafily ranged under the foregoing heads, that we may un-
derftand the better that God hath plainly foretold the rejection of the'
Jews at the "ime of the Mefliah.
1. Mofes then threatens them with a terrible defolation, Deut. xxviii.
verf. 28, 29. The Lord Jhall finite thee with niadnefs and blindnefs, andafto-
nijhment of heart : and thou Jhalt grope at noon day, as the blind gropeth in
darhnefs, and thou Jhalt not pro/per in thy ways, and thou JJ)alt be only pp-
■preffed and fpoiled evermore, and no man /hall fave thee.
Manaffeh acknowledges that God in this paffage foretels, notonly their
firft defolation under Nebuchadnezzar, but alio that which happened
under Titus Vefpafian ; the eagle mentioned at the 49th verfe of that
chapter, being not only applicable to Nebuchadnezzar, whom Ezekiel,
chap. xvii. reprefents under that notion, but more particularly to the
Roman emperor Titus, whofe eagles gave a literal accomplishment to
that prophecy.
This makes it evident, that at the fame time when God threatens
them with their firft defolation, he alfo denounces to them the laft ; and
that conlequently we may apply thofe paflages to the fecond rejection of
the Jews, which were fpoken of the firft.
2. Hofea expreffeth the fame in his firft, fecond, and third chapters,
where he particularly foretels their being deprived of the royal dignity,
priefthood, and prophecy.
3. Ifaiah fpeaks to the fame purpofe in his firft, fecond, and fifth
chapters; as alfo chap, xxviii, lxii, 1, and lxvi. and in his xxvth chap-
ter he fpeaks as if no reftoration was to be expected.
4. Amos reprefents the fame thing, chap. v. verf. 16, 17, and 21, 22.
Therefore the Lord, the God of Hofts, the Lord faith thus : [Vailing Jhall be in
alljtreets-, and they Jhall fay in all the high-ways, Alas! alas! and they Jhall
call the hujlandman to mourning, and juch as arejkilful of lamentation to wail-
ing. And in all vineyards/ball be wailing ; for I will pafs through thee, faith
the Lord. I hate, I defpi/e your feaft-days ; and I ivill not fmell in yourfolemn
affemblies : though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meat-offerings, I will
not accept them, neither will I regard the peace-offering of your fat beafts.
Where he hints that their defolation fhall be without recovery.
5. Jeremiah is very exprefs in chap, v, vi, and x. verfe 11. where he
declares that their destruction fhould be without remedy; as alfo
chap xii. and xxxi.
6. Daniel follows their fteps, chap. ix. verf. 25, 26. 27. where he
directly points at the deftrucStion of Jerufalem and the temple. The
words are thefe: Know therefore and underfiand, that from the going forth
of
426 Reflexions upon the Ch. XXV.
of the ezmmandmenty to re ft ore and build Jerufalcm, unto the JlfeJJiah the
Prince •, /hall be /even xveeks ; and three/core and two -weeks the ftreets Jhall be
built again, and the vjall, even in troublous times. And after the three/core
and two weeks Jhall MESSIAH be cut off, but not for hinfelf : and the
■people of the Prince that [nail come, Jhall deftroy the city and the fancluary ; and
the end thereof Jhall be with a flood; and unto the end of the war defolations
are determined. It is worth our obferving, that Jofephus (o) the hiflo-
rian, a little after the deftru&ion of Jerufalem, acknowledges th?t this
prophecy of Z)tf«/V/didexprefsly foretel the ruin of the temple of Jeru-
falem, and of the Jewijh government, by the arms of the Roman empire,
which himfelf was an eye-witnefs of.
7. Zechariah fpealcs after the fame manner, chap. xi. verf. 9. Then
faidl, I will not feed you : that that dieth, let it die ; and that that is to be cut
off, ht it be cut off; and let the reft eat, every one thefejl) of another.
8. And Malachi follows thefe common ideas, chap. i. verf. 10 and ir.
Who is there among you that Jhuts the doors for nought ? Neither do ye kindle
fire on mine altar for nought. 1 have no pleafure in you, faith the Lord of Hofts,
neither will I accept an "offering at your hand. For from the rifing oj the fun,
even unto the going down of the fame, my name Jhall be great among the Gen-
tiles ; and in every place incenfe Jhall be offered unto my name, and a pure of-
fering : for my name Jhall be great among the heathen, faith the Lord of
Hop.
1 cannot conceive how any that confider the fucceflion of thefe ideas,
fo interwoven one with another, can have the leaft doubt whether the
Jews were to be rejected at the coming of the Mefliah, or no ; efpecially
fince the Apoftles, and St. Paul in particular, have made it appear, that
the Prophets fo plainly did foretel this truth.
CHAP. XXV.
Of the Time which fucceeded the Publijhing of thefe Prophecies, till the Coming
of the Messiah.
THUS we have fee n an abridgment of the moft remarkable oracles
uttered, either by God himfelf, or by Prophets, whom he made
ufe of to declare his defigns. I might eaflly have alledged a far greater
number ; but I chofe rather to content myfelf with thefe, to avoid the
confufion which the multiplicity of citations is apt to occaficn. And
1 queftion not but thefe I have mentioned, will fuffice to give us an idea
of God's promife concerning the Mefliah fufliciently great, and enable
us to make a judgment, whether that which the Chnftians declare to
have been the accompli foment of it, be fo indeed.
In the mean time, for the further clearing of this matter, I defire the
reader to make fome reflexions on the" whole matter, which feem to me
to deferve a ferious attention.
The
(0) Antiq. Lib. x.
Ch. XXV. Books of the Old Te/lament. 427
The firft is, That God hath by degrees put an end to thofe divifions
that were between fome other nations and thejtivs, founded on their
hopes of thepromife of the Adeffiah, as the time of its accomplifhment
drew near.
We hear little now of the enmity of the IJJmiaeJitcs againfl; the Jews :
God having placed them in the defert of Paran, they have indeed con-
tinued there in a manner invincible, but alfo without any great commu-
nication with their neighbour nations.
As for the Moabites and Ammonites, they had their kingdoms on the
borders of the Holy Land, and continued there till the time of Nebuchad-
nezzar, fince which we find little mention made of them, as being in a
manner wholly confounded with other nations ; only we meet with fome
few memorials of the Ammonites, whofe pretenfions to that promife
were the weaker of the two, as being the pofterity of Lot's younger
daughter.
It is worth our obferving, That moft of the prophecies of David, as
well as of the following Prophets, which thunder forth fuch terrible de-
nunciations againft the pride of thofe people, threatening them with the
curfe of God and final defrru&ion, feem to have an eye to the old quar-
rel and jealoufy; their ftate quarrel which happened afterwards, fucceed-
ing to this their firft averfion, and hatred of the Jews.
The ftate and government of the Edomites, as well as their jealoufy*
againft lfracl, continued till after Cyrus, who granted them the liberty of
returning to their own country, as well as to the Jews who had been car-
ried away captives with them by Nebuchadnezzar ; but contrary to the
hope they had of being re-ftablifhed to their former eftate, we find, that
according to the prophecy of Malachi, they continued in bondage to their
neighbours, yea to the Jews themfelves, until Herod the Edomite, poflefT-
ing himfelf of the throne of Judea, was probably flattered by thofe of
his own nation, and by fome Jews alfo, into a belief of his being the
promifed Meffiah.
We muft alfo take notice. That the Divine Providence feems to have
continued this people fo long, on purpofe that the fpirit of jealoufy
which was between them and the Jews, might preferve the notion of the
promifed Meffiah more frefh and lively, and to engage men to a more
attentive coniidcration of the prophecies concerning the fame \ and chat
God, by confounding them afterwards with other nations, intended
wholly to take away their pretenfions; the fervice which before they
rendered to the Jewijh church, being no longer needful, after fo clear
and diftin£f. a revelation.
This reflexion will be owned to be more than a conjecture, if we con-
ftder God's dealing with the ten tribes : God fuffers them to be carried
away captives by Balmanajfar, leaving only the tribes of Judab, Levi,
and Benj-itnin, to be afterwards the depofitaries of the Divine oracles.
The fecond is, That as it appears that God hath kept fome diftance
of time in his revelation, that the authority of the Prophets might be
fully and firmly eftabhfhed, which, as I have obferved, was done by the
accomp'ilhment of fome prophecies, refpecting fome particular matters
of fact near at hand ; fo it pleafed God, for above four hundred years,
£0 leave the Jews without the light of prophecy; becaufe that which he
had
428 Reflexions upon the Ch. XXV.
had given them till Malaehi's time, was fufficient to make them know
the Meffiah, when lie fnould appear in the world.
The third is, That this ceflation ofthe gifts of prophecy among the
Jeivs did ferve to increafe their defires for the coming of the Meffiah,
in v»hofe days thofe gifts (which were the peculiar glory of their cation)
were to be reilored in far greater abundance than had ever been granted
to them before.
A fourth reflexion, which is well worth our attentive confideration,
is, That God fo ordered it in his providence, that all the books of the
OldTejlamant were tranflated into the Greek about one hundred years
after Malachi, that they might be communicated to all nations; the
Greek tongue being at that time, and indeed ever fince the reign of
Alexander the Great, a language the molt known and generally fpoken in
the world, he having with his pow.r carried it into the South and Eo)h
It is natural to conceive, that the Divine Providence hereby dehgned
thefe three things :
Firft, Toeiiablifh and confirm the authority of thofe Dhine oracles,
by delivering them into the hands of the heathen, by the public autho-
rity of the Jewijb nation, at the deftre of a king of Egypt.
Secondly, To prevent cavilling about the explication of thofe oracles.
Thus, for inftance, we fee therte is no place kft to difpute the tranfla-
tion of that prophecy, Behold, a virgin Jball conceive, feeing the LXX in-
terpreters, who were Jews, have rendered it fo them ill ves, fome ages be-
fore any conteits were tfarted about it between the Jews and Chrijiians.
The third was, To prepare and difpofe the heatnen for receiving the
religion of the Meffiah.
And indeed we may eafily comprehend, i.That it was neceffary that
the prophetical writings mould be communicated to the heathen, in or-
der to their ready fubmitting themfelves to the authority of the Mtffiah,
whom they knew by thofe characters which had been given of him.
2. That it was not fitting that the heathen fh;:uld wholly depend on the
authority of the Jews, forafmuch as the fame Divine oracles do ex-
prefsly affirm, that the Mtffiah was to be rejected by the gieateft part
of them.
1 fhall conclude thefe reflexions with a fhort view of the fiate of the
commonwealth and religion of the Jews, fince the laif. of the Prophets.
Firft, One finds that this government fubiiitej as diftincl from all
other nations of the earth, as ever it did before: we fee the honour
wherewith Alexander the Great treated their high-prieft; and that, when
he was appointed arbitrator of the difference between them and the Sa-
maritans, he determined the matter in favour of the Jews.
One fees that Alexander preferved them in the enjoyment of their
rights and liberties, as they enjoyed them under the kings of Perfui; and
in particular exempted them from paying any tribute every feventh year,
becaufe then they did not fow their ground, and confequently could not
reap.
And if we find that Ptolemy took Jerusalem on a fabbath day, the Jews
making confeience of defending themfelves, becaufe the law required
their ceafing from all work ; from whence Agatharcides, an heathen au-
thor, takes occafion to blame their law ; if we find him carrying a great
number
Ch. XXV. Booh of the Old Tejlament. 429
number of Jeivs with him into Egypt, yet withal we find him treating
them wich as much kindnefs as the Macedonians themfelves, appointing
diftincl: places in Egypt and Lybia for their habitation.
If we find that powerful princes, fuch as Antiocbus, Epipbanes, and
fome others of his fucceflbrs, broke the power of the Jews, profaned
their temple, and forced great numbers of them to abjure their religon ;
yet we fee them alio at the fame time giving the higherr. iniiances of an
immovable conftancy and courage in defence of their law, and in en-
during the mod exquiftte tortures; we fee others of them encouraged
with the love of their country, as well as religion, putting themfelves
into a pofture of defence, purifying the temple, and celebrating a fefti-
val which is obferved even at this day, and laftly obtaining favourable
treaties at the hands of their enemies ; as may be feen in the books of
the Maccabees, and in the twelfth book of Jojepbus's Antiquities: yea,
we find their name and glory at that time lpread as far as Lacedamon,
with which commonwealth they made an alliance during the high-
priefthood of Onias.
One fees them after this fo confiderable, under the fucceflbr of An-
tiochus their perfecutor, that even thofe kings fue for their alliance with
great prefents.
One fees that Ptolemy Philometor granted to Onias the fon, leave to
build a tempi?- in Egypt, for the convenience of thofe Jews whom Pto-
lemy the fon &• Lagus had carried, thither, as well as tor thofe who left
their country t r theopprefEon of the Seleucida; for Judea, being fituate
between Syria and Egypt, was oVdinarily the theatre of war between
thofe two ftates. It is here worth our noting, that the Jews undertook
the building of the temple in Egypt, as thinking themfelves authorifed
by that prophecy, Ifai. xix. 24. it being a thing otherwife forbid by
the lav/.
One fees, in the fame prince's reign, a great conteft between the Sama-
ritans and the Jews, about the pre-eminence of their temples, ztjeru-
fakm and mount Garizim, decided by him in favour of the Jews : on
which occafion the Jews fhewed that prince their law, and acquainted
him with the feries of their hiftory, to confute the Samaritans preten-
tions.
One fees after this, when the Jews had conferred the fovereignty and
high-priefthood on Simon, that their ftate became fo powerful, that un -
der Hyrcanus his fucceflbr they were in a condition to attack their ene-
mies in Syria, and compel the Edomites to admit circumcifion. Aufto-
bulusWis fon was crowned; his brother fucceeded him in the royal dignity,
and left the ftate in a flourifhing condition, notwithstanding the civil
and foreign wars he was engaged in.
We find afterwards, that the inteftine divifions among the fucceflbrs
of thofe JewiJIj princes did by degrees open a gap for foreign power
to enter, and prevail over them: Pompey, fiding with Hyrcanus, took Jeru-
falern, and made the Jews tributary to the Romans, but without chan-
ging any thing in their religion.
Julius Caja* a while after beftowed the kingdom of Judea upon He-
rod the Edomite. Auguftus after him uftd the Jews with the fame equity
as Pompey before him had done, as appears from one of his declarations
publifhed
430 Reflexions upon the, &c. Ch. XXV.
publifhed in favour of the Jews of Egypt and Afia, recorded byjofephus.
This Herod and Augujius are the fame under whom our Saviour Jefus
Chrift was born.
Jt is evident, therefore, That the flate of the Jews has continued
diftincl from other nations, and fufficiently known, from the time of the
Prophet Malachi until Herod.
We may alfo truly afTert, That whatever inclination the j^u/jof old
had for the idolatries of their neighbours, yet we do not find them given
that way during this interval, between the laft of their Prophets and
Herod \ as if the charge and command of that Prophet Malachi had
always founded in their ears, Mai. iv. verfe 4. Remember the law of
Mofes myfervant, he.
One fees that the Jews under the Maccabees, in great numbers, fuf-
fered martyrdom, rather than abjure their religion ; and that they ob-
served the ceremonial law with all carefulnefs, of which Augujius him-
felf was witnefs.
One fees that, under Grangers and heathen kings, they exempted them-
felves from anfwering any fuit at law on the fabbath-day, from paying
tribute the feventh year, and preierving the rights and privileges of
their temple in fpite of all oppofition. Laftly, one finds them, during
Herod's government, fupported by the favour of the Roman empire, in
refufing to fet up the emperor's trophies, for fear left fome images
might be hid under them, which they looked upon as i crime againft
their law.
I am not ignorant, thatfince Malachi fome herefies fprung up among
the Jews, their commerce with the Greeks (who applied themfelves to
philofophical fpeculations) having contributed to make them much more
diputatious than they were before. The authority likewife of their
kings, who were high-priefts alfo, may have had a great ftroke in ble-
mifhing the purity of their religion.
But yet the difputes which we find amongfr, them, as that of the fa-
tality of events, did not at all touch the fubitance of their religion.
They no fooner found the fpirit of epicurifm to creep in amongfr.
them, but they framed fuch additions to their public liturgy, as they
thought moft proper to eradicate, or at leaft condemn that corruption.
I confefs alfo, that the Pharifeesand Doctors of their law had greatly
altered their morality, in making the ir own explications (by the great
authority which they had amonglt the people) to pal's for authentic : but
yet this change and corruption in their morals as to practice, did not go
lb far as to abolifh the laws themfelves, which were only wrefttd from
their true meaning. This was indeed a great corruption, but not fuch
a one as could make it to be no more the fame religion.
So that we may boldly afTert (which is a thing vrry important to our
prefent purpofe) That the ftate and religion of the Jsius have continued
fufficiently entire till the time of the appearing of the Meifiah in the
world, for their preierving of whatsoever was necefTary, viz. as well the
books of the Old Teftament, as the knowledge of thofe oracks which
foretold the coming of the Mefiiah, together with the knowledge of thefe
principles, according to which the Prophets have fpoken in their pre-
dictions concerning him.
THE
THE
R E F A C
I HAVE fnewn in my Reflexions upon the Book of Genefts, that
the fads of the Creation, and the promifes of the Meffiah, are
truths not to be queftioned, and that the ideas of this Meffiah con-
tinued vigoroufly all the time that preceded the children of Israel's
going out of Egypt.
We have feen afterwards, in the Remarks which I have made upon the
Laws which God gave to Mofes, that it was the great defign of God to
keep men in the expectation of this Meffiah, and to take care that they
might certainly know him whenever he mould appear in the world.
1 have taken notice, in the third part of thefe Reflexions, of the care
which God took to give a great number of Oracles to explain particu-
larly all the characters of this Meffiah, the place and manner of his
Birth, the principal circumftances of his Life, Death, and Refun-ection,
and to foretel the efFufion of the gifts of the Holy Ghofl upon the Gen-
tiles^ their call to the Religion of the Meffiah, and laftly, the overthrow
of the whole model of the Jewijh religion and commonwealth, which
was no longer of any ufe after tne coming of the Meffiah, and the call-
ing of the Gentiles.
My prefent bufinefs is now to fhew, That in the books of the New
Tejlament we may find an exa6l accomplifhment of this whole defign,
wherein God had with fo much care inftrucT:ed the world fo long before;
and there is nothing more eafy, if we will but take a little pains to read
thefe books attentively, and to compare them with the model which God
himfeif made, as we have hitherto defcribed it.
To make this truth yet more evident, I think it will be neceflary to
do two or three things, which feem to be very important for my pre-
fent defign.
And firfr, I am to obferve, that there appear* a mofl perfect coherence
between the ideas of the Old Tejiament and thofe of the New; which is
abfolutely neceflary, to fhew that there is in thefe books a perfect unity
of defign, notwithftanding the vaft difference there is between the Jews
who preferve the Old Tejiament, and the Chrijlians who preferve the
New.
Secondly, I am to demonftrate that the ideas of the Meffiah were very
ftrong in the minds of the Jews at the very time that Jefus Chriir ap-
peared in the world.
This
n THE PREFACE.
This was abfolutely necefTary, that they might not have wherewith to
accul'e thofe who received Chrift for the Meffiah, of being deceived in
their choice, for not having had the exact ideas of the Meffiah which
God had promifed.
I fhall upon this account (hew in the third place, That when Jefus
Chrift did appear in the world, the model which God had framed in the
law of Mofes, whereby the Meffiah might be plainly known, did then
iubliit m the manner wherein Gou had framed ir.
After this, 1 (hall endeavour to fhew by proofs, which are indeed un-
questionable, That in examining all the characters which the Prophets
gave, by which the Meiliah might be known, we cannot conceive a
more exact ex cation of God's delign, as to the Meffiah, than that which
we find in the perfon of Jefus Chrift, whereof the books of the N^w
Yfftament have given us the hiltory.
Laftly, 1 fhall fhew clearly that this model which God had framed in
giving the law, and in forming the commonwealth and religion of the
Jews in fo proper a manner, to make the Meffiah certainly known, is
not in being at this day; but that it was fo deftroyed by the total dif-
periion of that people, that we fhould not be able to know the Meffiah
if he fhould now appear again in the world : and that indeed the prin-
cipal event?, which according to the oracles were to follow the coming
of the Meffiah, are already come to pafs in part, and do 11 ill come to
pafs every day.
I hope to evince thefe truths beyond all conteft: indeed the bare read-
ing of the books of the New Tejtament plainly difcovers the coherence
which they have with the books of the Old \ it fhews clearly that the
ideas of the Meffiah were at that time very ftrong in the minds of the
Jews ; and it fuppofeth, without any affectation, that the model which
God had made fo neceflary to diftinguifh the Meifiah, flood at that time
entire.
In particular, it is certain, that the four Evangelifh, by the relation
of unqueftionable matters of fact-, have proved that jefus, the fon of
Mary, is the Meffiah v/hich God had promifed.
St. Luke fhews, in the Acls of the Apoftles, that after the refurredtion
of Jefus Chrift, and the effufion of the gifts of the Holy Ghoft, the
G of pel was preached to the heathens.
The epiftles are a natural confequence of this vocation of the heathen?,
and of the abolifhingof the law of Mofe^ which the Apoftleshad under-
taken. They unanimoufly confpire to fhew that God had refolyed to
call the heathens to partake of falvation, that the "Jews for the greateft
part fhould be juftly deprived thereof, becaufe they obftinately rejected
the Meffiah. Several queftions are examined, which arofe cither from
the calling of the Gentiles, or from the abciifhing of the ceremonial
worfhip.
The fucceffion of the hiftory of the Chnfrian church juftifies, That
after the deftruction of Jerujalem all people embraced the religion of
Jefus Chrift, in receiving him for the Meffiah wnom God had promifed
to the Patriarchs and to the Jews.
1 (hall relume all thefe articles one by one, in that natural order in
which I have propofed them.
REFLEXIONS
REFLEXIONS
UPON THE
BOOKS
OF THE
NEW TESTAMENT,
T o
ESTABLISH THE TRUTH
OF THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
CHAP. I.
That there appears a very jujl Connexion between the Ideas of the Old
Testament, andthofe oftheNEW, the latter borrowing Light from the
former,
/V ^ lt IS not mucn the chara&er of romances, even then when they
J^X. are moft tied up to the rules of probability, to borrow either
the ftyle or ideas of thofe authors from whom they take their fubject,
fo I fuppofe that, in this my undertaking to fhew that the New Teftament
is an exact accomplifhment of the Old, it is very important to make
out, that at the firft reading of the Gofpels and Apoftolical writings, one
Vol. I. Ee finds
434 Reflexions upon the Ch. I.
finds in them a perfect conformity of ideas with the writings of the
Old Tejlament.
One may to this purpofe obferve in general, that the Gofpel fuppofefli
the Divine authority of the book, of the Old Teftament, as an unquef-
tionable truth. The gofpels and epiftles have the fame coherence with
the books of the law and Prophets which the writings of the latter
Prophets have with thofe of the former, and which the books of all the
Prophets together have with the books of Mofss, and with the prophe-
cies, laws, and hiftories, which are contained therein.
One may take notice afterwards, that all the books of the New Tejla-
ment have an efiential relation to thofe of the Old, in their moft princi-
pal defigns. I have fhewed that their defign was no other, than to raife
men to expectations of the Meffiah, and to paint him to the life whom
God had prcmifed from the beginning of the world ; and the only defign
of the New Tejlament is, to prove that the Meffiah is come according to
the Prophets. The firft fpeaks concerning the Meffiah as expected j the
latter, as already come.
But we muft proceed to a more particular view of this matter. I fay
then, firft of all, that the Chriitians have the fame object of their faith
which ihzjeius had ; this Jefus Chrift himfelf declares, where he faith,
This is life eternal, that they ??iight know thee the only true God, and JJ'S
Chriji whom thou ha/lfent. Behold here the true character of the Chrif-
tian religion, as well as of the Jewifh, to believe one only God, to own
a Meffiah, and to acknowledge that Jefus Chrift is he. The Jews agree
with us in the former articles, though they difpute the lair.
I fay, in the fecond place, that the laws of the Gofpel, which regulate
religion and the conduct of particular perfonsin that fociety, are exactly
the fame with thofe of the Old Teftament. Jefus Chrift, in his fermon
upon the mount, which contains an abridgment of his ethics, had no
other end but to reftore the true fenfe and meaning of thofe laws God
Jiad given upon mount §in\di\ and though, in the matter of divorce?,
It fecms oppofite to that lav/ wherein God had before permitted them,
yet we may eafily conceive that he began to abrogate thofe orders and
tlifpenfations which were only given to make the Meffiah knownwhen-
ever he fhould appear.
The prayer which Jefus Chrift taught his Apoftles, is full of notions
which reigned among the yews, as feveral expofitors have manifefted.
I fhall content myfelf with alledging the inftance of the petition for our
daily bread, which has an evident regard to the manna which God gave
the children of IJrael in the wildernefs for forty years.
We know alk> that the facraments of the baptifm and the eucharift
are originally Jewifh ceremonies, which Jefus Chrift hath applied, with
a very little variation, to much more important fubjects. Baptifm was
a wafhing which accompanied the facrifices and circumcifion of profe-
iytes ; and the wafhing practifed under the law of Mojes, fignified that
the profelyte who was admitted to the fame, was reiolved to renounce
liis former curfes, and for the time to ■. ome to follow an oppofite way
of living, according to the rules prefcribed him by the Minifters of Hea-
ven, after that they, in the name of God, had afiured him of theremiffion
of his fins.
The
Ch. I. feooh of the New Tfflament, 435
The eucharift was an appendix of the feaft of the paffover, which
preferved the memory of the fufferingS of the Israelites in Egypt, and the
deliverance he afforded them, in punifhing of the Egyptians. Th\s
ceremony did perpetuate the memory of the deliverance till the comino-
of the Median. Jefus Chrift had fubftituted to this figure an inftance
of the curfe of God again ft the pofterity of Cham, the idea of his death,
by which he had communicated his bleffing to all nations of the earth
according to his promife; and he hath made it a more full and exact
memorial of his death, which he Would have us to confider as the death
of the true Lamb, which takes azvay the Jin of the world. As the old
covenant was made in the blood of a lamb, fo Jefus Chrift, with regard
to the New Teftamertt or covenant promifed by Jeremiah, chap. xxxi.
ordains the celebrating the memorial of the blood he had fpilt, This is
the New Tejiament in my blood, &c. And laftly, whereas the law ordained
the commemoration of the pafchal lamb but once a year, Jefus Chrift
feems to appoint a much more frequent celebration of the eucharift,
when he faith, As oft as ye Jhall eat this bread, &c. the reafon of which,
without doubt, is taken from the greatnefs of the benefit which his death
confers upoli us.
It is well worth our obfervation, that ordinarily the fame propheti-
cal ideas that are found in the Old Tejiament may be met with in the
New. The book of the Revelations contains abundance of particulars
fet down in the prophecies of Zechariah and Ezekiel. Jefus Chrift
himfelf purfues the ideas of the Prophet Joel in the xxivth of Matthew,
when he fets forth the deftrudtion of Jerufalem ; and afterwards he de-
fcribes the fame, according to the notions which Daniel gives us
thereof.
Daniel foretels, in the viith chapter of his book, the deftru&iort of the
Roman monarchy by the Chriftians, whom he ftyles The People of the
MoJl High. St. Paid follows the fame notion, 1 Cor. vi. 2. Where he
fuppofeth it as a known thing t The Saints (faith he) Jhall judge the world.
And St. John, in the xxth'of the Revelations, verfe 4, repre Cents Satan
bound, and the government put into the hands of believers.
It is alfo very remarkable, that the promifes and threats of Jefus
Chrift are exprefll-d in terms borrowed from the Old Tejiament. Thefe
words of Jefus Chrift, He that hears my words, and believes in him that
fent me, hath eternal life, and floall not come into judgment, Sic. have not
they a plain relation to Adams unbelief and difobediencej to the judg-
ment he underwent, and the punifhment impofed on him ? Is it not
from this fpirit, which penetrates both, that the Ifiw Tejiament (o oft
makes mention of a new Canaan, a new Jerufalem, a new name. £;c. and
that glory is reprefented to us fometimes under the notion of Paradife,
fometimes of a feaft, where Abraham (who is called The Fathtr cj the
Faithful) fits at the upper end ?
Eternal damnation is reprefented to us under the notion of the valley
of Hinnom, of a lake burning with fire and brimftone, with regard to
the lake of Sodom, and to the place where the filth of Jerufalem was not
to be burnt up and confumed. It is upon this account that believers
are exhorted to remember Lot'i wife, Luke ix. 62. and and xvii. 32. and
to depart from the midft of the wicked, Hctr. xiii.
Ee2 If
43& Reflexions upon the Ch. I.
If we confider the election of the Apoftles, and of the feventy Dif-
ciples, we fhall find the reference they have to the heads of the twelve
tribes, and to the feventy elders whom Mofes chofe, to preferve the
memory of the feventy fouls Jacob brought with him into Egypt. Thpfe
paffages, Ye foci U Jit on tuelve thrones, and your names are written in the
beck of life, and the number of 144CO0, being the product of 12 times
12, by allufion to the twelve tribes, do all borrow their light from thofe
ancient hiftories.
Throughout the New Tc/l anient we find nothing but a continual allu-
fion to the ftate of the Jews : all thofe ideas of the liberty of the fans of
God do allude to the ceremony of their jubilee. The firjl born mentioned
there, and the kingdom ofPriefts, are not to be underftood but by calling
our eye on the Old Teflament. If Jefus Chrift be called the chief Corner
Stone, if Peter be called a Sto7te or Rock, Believers living Stones, and the
Apoftles Foundations, it is by way of allufion to the manner in which
the twelve princes or heads of the tribes did contribute towards the
building of the temple, and to the manner of the building of it. If the
children of Zebedee are called Boanerges, it is with reference to the fecond
of Haggai, Yet once, and I will /hake the heavens and the earth. That
the Heathens aredefcribed as a people afar off, and what is fpoken con-
cerning the wall of partition, hath a vifible refpect to the Gentiles being
prohibited to enter into the holy place of the temple.
If I would inftance in all the myftical relations of the one volume to
the other, I might fay that there appears a fingular conformity between
them, even in thofe things which fecm moft oppofite. Mofes, the firfl:
and great minifter of the law, had a ftammering fpeech ; Zachory, the
father of St. John the B apt if, was ftruck dumb, when he was to pro-
nounce the folemn bleffing of the people; whereas Jefus Chrift, on the
contrary, hath this character given of him, that never manfpake like him.
God faid at the beginning, Increafe and multiply ; he repeats the fame to
Noah, in order to the propagation of mankind, and replenifhing the
earth. Jefus Chrift faith, Go and teach all nations ; and the word is con-
ftantly reprefented to us as the feed of the regeneration and baptifm, as
the laver or waffling whereby we acc^ire a new birth. We fee Noah
receiving the dove into the ark with an olive branch, as a fign of the
peace of Heaven; and Jefus Chrift receives a like token.
Fire falls down from heaven on the facrifice of Abel, Noah, Mofes,
David, Solomon, and Elijah, as a token that God accepted their offerings ;
and God fends the fame mark of his favour on the day of Pentecoft, to
declare that the facrifice of Jefus Chrift was moft acceptable to him.
God had forbid the high prieft to rend his clothes on any occafion
whatsoever, that rending of garments involving a myftery, as appearo
from the hiftory of Jeroboam ; and yet we fee, that the high prieft rent
his clothes at the condemnation of our Saviour, and thereby violated for
ever the authority of his priefthood : whereas, on the contrary, we find
the garments of our Lord and Saviour were left whole and entire, to fig-
nify to us the eternity of his priefthood. We fee that the ear of Malchus,
the high prieft's fervant, was cut oft" by St. Peter, and that Jefus Chrift
reftorcd it again, to fhew that the fynagogue had loft the true faith, and
Jefus Chrift alone was able to rcftore it. We fte the holy place in the
temple
Ch. II. Books of the New Tejlamcnt. 4-37
temple opened at the death of Chrift, by the rending of the vail ; which
fignified that the ceremonial law was then to lofe its force and au-
thority.
But the obfervations already made are fufficient to make out what I
intend, without having recourfe to thefe myfteries ; and I believe no
man can make fuch reflexion?, without being perfuaded that fo great a
conformity of ideas muft neceflarily imply a perfect unity of defign :
now it is impoflible to fuppofe that this unity of defign mould be fo'
conftantly obferved by different authors, who lived at fuch a diftance of
timts, places, and interefts, without being convinced of a perpetual
Divine guidance.
I acknowledge that in the New Tejlamcnt there may be found fome
decifions which feem wholly oppofite to thofe of the Old: for inftance,
we find there a total abrogation of the ceremonial law ; but, forafmuch
as all thofe obfervations had no other ufe but to difcinguifh the Jews
from all other nations of the earth, and by this means to make the Mef-
fiah known to the Jews, amongft whom he was to be born, fo it is ob-
vious to conceive that all thofe ceremonies were of courfe to be abo-
lifhed after that the Mefliah was come into the world, and that, if we
confider things in this view, we fhall find no contradiction at all between
Mofesy who eftabliflied thefe ceremonies, and the Apoftles, who abolifhed
them.
But, before we come to confirm thefe grounds, we muft make it ap-
pear, that the ideas of the Mefliah continued very frefh in the minds of
the Jews j_and this fhall be the fubject of the following chapter.
CHAP. II.
That the Ideas of the Meffiah continued very frejh in the Minds of the Jew*
at the Time of the Coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
IT would be an eafy matter for me here to fhew that the ideas of the
Mefliah were lively in the minds of the Jews before the coming cf
Jefus Chrift. This appears from the fable which the Rabbies told
Origen, concerning Zedechiah, and Ahiab, whom the king of Babylon
burnt, for perfuading the Jcwifh women that they were the perfons that
were to conceive the Mefliah. But 1 intend to make ufe of proofs of a
different nature.
Now, to prove that the notion of the Mefliah was very frefh in the
minds of the Jews, we need only take notice, that the prom ie of God
concerning him, was the firft, the moft important, and repeated with
the greateft afliduity in the books of the Prophets ; and confequently it
employed them the moft : God having, for this reafon, obliged them to
read the books of Mofes every fabbath, to fing the Pfalms of David , and
E e 3 r to
43$ Reflexions upon the Ch. II.
to examine the writings of the Prophets, where the promife of the Mef-
fiah was a thoufand times repeated.
We may add a great deal of light to this obfervation, if we confider
that the circumftances of the Jews at that time engaged them to give
more diligent heed to what the Prophets had declared ; and by weighing
feveral matters of foct fet down in the Gofpel, to fhew the univerfal
effect of the lively impreflion of this notion of the Mefliah on the minds
of the Jews.
Without doubt the eftate of the Jews at that time, being equally op-
prefTed by the power of the Romans and that of Herod, could not but put
them upon a careful examining of the promifes which God had fo often
vouchfafed them concerning the Mefliah ; and the rather, becaufe God
had often represented to them the kingdom of the Mefliah as a temporal
kingdom, which was to deliver them from the power of their enemies.
This appears very evident in the Gofpel on feveral occafions. We
find that the people of Jcrufalcm and Herod were troubled at the news
of the birth oi~ Jefus, as that which would probably caufe great troubles
and defolations, before the kingdom of the Mefliah could fubdue the Ro-
mans as well as Herod : one fees that the multitudes would have taken
Chrift, and proclaimed him their king, and fubmitted themfelves to him
as the true Mefliah, ; one fees that Chrift's own difciples, both before
and after his death, talked agreeably to thefe popular ideas. Whatelfe
can we make of that paffage of the mother of James and John, when
fhe begs for them the chief places in his kingdom ? When the Apoftles
difpute which of them fhould be thegreateft, was it not an effect of the
fame caufe? Did not the Apoftles, when they went to Emaus, difcourfe
at the fame rate ? Did not they exprefs themfelves with much grief and
trouble, before they were inftructed in the moft fublime truths of the
Gofpel ? But we trujlcd that it had been he which Jhould have redeemer
Ifrael.
It is alfo very obfervable, that John the Baptijl appears and admini-
sters the facramentof baptifm at this time: this his practice gave the
Jews occaiion to take him for the Mefliah ; but what ground had they
to think fo ? furely from what they had read in Ezckiel, chap, xxxvi.
verfe 25. And indeed, when the great council of the Jews deputed
fome perfons to him, they charged them to know of him whether he
were the Mefliah or not; and if not, why he exercifed a function which
that prophecy feemed to appropriate to the Mefliah himlelf, in calling
him the Angel of the Covenant ?
The fame truth may alfo be collected from what is related to us con-
cerning the opinions of the Jews about the perfon of Chrift : Whom,
faith our Saviour, do -people fay I am ? And the Apoftles anfwer, that
fome faid he was John the Baptijl, others Jeretniah, others Elias, and
others again that Prophet, that is to fay the Mefliah, who is fo called by
way of excellence in the xviiith of Deuteronomy. And we find that
when Jefus Chrift ftyled himfelf the Son of Man, the multitudes eafily
conceived that he alluded to the feventh of Daniel, where the Mefliah is
fo called.
We perceive alfo, from many other places in the Gofpel, that the
multitudes were very well acquainted with thofc paflages in the Old Tef-
tament
Ch. II. Booh of the New TeJlamenU 439
tamoit which were commonly applied to the Meffiah : -The ATejJiah, when
he appears, fay they, will he do greater Jigns than this man doth t Others
are offended becaufe Jefus Chnft was of Nazareth, arguing from thence
that he could not be the Meffiah ; others maintain that, when the Mef-
fiah mould come, it would not be known whence he was ; and others
again afferted, that the Meffiah was to continue for ever : all which is
an evident fign that the ideas of the Meffiah were very Familiar among
the Jews.
This mud have been Co of neceffity, becaufe the Samaritans them-
felves were pollened with the fame ideas, though they had not fq great an
extent of light as the Jews had. They did not indeed altogether rejedt
the writings of the Prophets, but rather ftudied them with care : their
animofity againft the Jews, and their jealoufy upon account of the
promife, of the place of the temple, and other things in queftion, do
roanifeftly fhew that the characters of the Meffiah were known to them,
and that they were exactly informed in that whole matter.
One ought alfo to take notice, that as the Apoftles cali that thefuU
nefscftime, becaufe the times fetdown by the Prophets were almoft ex-
pired, and the fceptre was already departed from Judahy the weeks of
Daniel were ended, and the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt were over-
turned, fo there were feveral good men who were filled with an expec-
tation of the A4effiah. Anna and Simeon are reprefented to us as thofe
who, by their ftudy cf the Holy Scriptures, had difcovered that the time
of the coming of the Meffiah was near at hand ; much in the fame man-
ner as Daniel is reprefented to us to have learnt from the prophecy of
Jeremiah, that the captivity was almoft expired.
I fhall add one argument more, which feems beyond exception; that
many perfons were found, about the time of Jefus Chrift, who were ei-
ther drawn by others into an opinion of their being the Meffiah, or who
of themfelves defired to be accounted fo. Thus we are told that the
flatterers of Herod the Great gave him the title of McJJiah : of this
number were Theudas and Judas Gaulonites, with fome others. Thus alfo,
foon after, fome applied the prophecies concerning the Meffiah to Vefpa-
Jian the emperor, becaufe he had been chofen in the eaft. This is at-
tefted by Jofephus, 'Tacitus, and Suetonius, who alTure us that the notion
of the prom 1 fed Meffiah, as of a great king, was very common in the
eaft, and not unknown in the weft.
We know that, under the emperor Adrian, Barchcchab was the caufe
of a terrible fedition, by making the Jews believe that he was the Mef-
fiah : and we cannot be ignorant how many fuch like impoftors have
been fince, who have abufed the credulity of the Jews, even until Sa-
hatai Sevi [a), who deluded them about one and twenty years fince.
Laftly, we cannot but think that this idea of the A4effiah was always
frefh among the Jews, becaufe we find that from that time they have
continually difputed with the Chriftians about this matter ; becaufe th„y
teli us of two Meffiahs, one the fon ofjuda.b, and the other the fon of
Jofeph ; and becaufe, in ail places of the world whither thev are fcat-
tered, they fpeak of the Meffiah in their Commentaries on the Scriptures,
in
(<?) Rjcaut, Turk. Hift. vol. 2. p. 174., &c,
E e 4
44O Reflexions upon the Ch. Ill;
in their fertnons, in their public prayers, and their common conven-
tion.
Surely if any time can be fuppofed wherein they might have loft their
knowledge and diftindt hope or the Mefiiah, it muft be fince the time
appointed for his coming is expired, when, by the Chriftians infulting
over their vain expectations, they have been obliged (finding themfelves
difappointed by prophetical calculations) to fet up that rafh maxim,
Cut fed is he that computes the times ; and therefore it is evident, that
thefe notions were much more lively in them when their hopes were
well grounded, and when they might pretend to fee them accom-
plifhed.
It is no lefs certain, that the model appointed by God, by means of
which the Meiliah might be certainly known, did ftill fubfift in the fame
manner as God at firfb had formed it : but that I may give a full light
to this capital truth, I fhall tie myfelf to confider the feveral argu-
ments for it diftinctly; and fhall begin with thofe which fhew that the
commonwealth of the Jews did fubfift according to the Divine model j
and then proceed to others, which demonftrate that God had therein
preferved all the diftimStions neceflary to his defign.
CHAP. III.
Ihat the Commonwealth of the Jews did Jlill fubfift \ and follow the Mode?
which God had formed, in order to the certain Knowing of the Mes-
siah.
THERE are two things which feem to contradict this propofition:
the one is, the overturning of the Jewi/h State ; the other is, the
corruption of their religion: but it is eafy to remove both thefe diffi-
culties.
For the overturning of the ftate of the Jews did not draw along with
it that of the Scripture, and the laws on which it was founded, and af-
terwards governed ; wherefore the cafe of this republic is not the fame
with that of Athens or Laccdtsmon^ which at prefent fubfift no where but
in books, bccaule there are no people now that follow the laws of the
ancient legiflators of Sparta or Athens.
But, on the contrary, we find the Jews, in all parts of the world, keep-
ing thefe laws with great carcfulnels, ftudying them with the greatefl:
application, and flattering themfelves that God will one day re-eitablifh
them in Judea* which they expect by means of the MelTiah, whom God
at firft promifed to them.
It is now above 1600 years that they have been fcattered throughout
the world, and yet we find not that their condition has made them change
their mealures or hopes; and though they have already been deceived by
a great
Ch. III. Books of the New Tejiament. 441
a great number of falfe Meffiahs, yet do not they for all that look upon
the condition of their commonwealth as irrecoverable.
Now, if during fo long a feries of ages they have kept their laws
with fo much carefulnefs, if they (till religioufly obferve all thofe laws
which could be kept without the bounds of the Holy Land ; who fees not
but that in all probability they muft have kept them more exactly at the
time of JefusChrift, and before his coming, when they could keep them
with much more eafe than fince that time, and that for many confider-
able reafons ?
For, firft, Their difperfion then was in one only nation ; whereas
now they are fcattered amongft Heathens, Chriftians, and Mahome-
tans.
2. They had then Prophets, who exhorted them to the obfervance of
thefe laws, which now they have wanted for fo many ages.
3. They had often princes that were very favourable to them, fuch
as Cyrus and Darius, who ordered that facrifices fhould be offered for
themfelves, in the temple at Jerufalem; and Pcmpcy afterwards had the
fame inclination for them : whereas, fince the time of their difperfion,
they have fcarcely met with anyone prince who has been favourable to
them, if we except Julian the apoftate ; who, from an effect of his ha-
tred againft the Chriftians, did vainly ftrive to re-eftablifh them.
4. They had a temple, to which the whole ftate of their republic
was fixed ; Herod, about the time of our Saviour, had moft magnifi-
cently repaired it : whereas now, for fo many ages, they have neither
temple nor altar.
5. They had high-priefts among them that were entrufred with the
fovereign power, and were kings of their nation j whereas now they
have neither king nor prince of their faith.
6. Their laws being tranflated into Greek fince the time of Ptolemy
Philadelphia, it gave occafion to an extraordinary jealoufy between the
Jews of Egypt, who had the text of Scripture in Greek, and between,
thofe of Jerufalem, who had it in Hebrew; whereas now, all this is
altogether ceafed, all the Jews now,, for many ages, making ufe only of
the Hebrew text.
Since, therefore, we find that they, without prophets, without king1,
out of their own country, &c. have obferved thefe laws for fo many-
ages, notwithstanding their difperfion throughout all places, and amongft
all forts of people; how much rather may we conceive they did fo fince
the time of Ezra, who placed the books of the Old Teftdment in the or-
der in which we have them at this day ? There are only 542 years from
the time of the return of their captivity, which happened in the year
3468, to the birth of Chrift; and but 259 years from their return, to
the tranflation of the Seventy: and we know that above 1600 years are
pafled fince their general difperfion.
Moreover, it appears that the Romans had fo well preferved the form
of the Jewijh government from Pompey's time, as well 'as that of their
religion, that a Roman genera] fent to demand a kind of permiffion of
the Jews, to let him pafs with the Roman eagles through Syria, We
know that-thofe eagles were never fet up at Jerufalem ; but it was at a
time when a Reman commander intended toilir up the Jews to fedition,
and
442 Reflexions upon the Ch. III.
and by that means to make the emperor their enemy. Yea, we find,
that though the Ro?nans referved to themfelves the power of the fword,
yet they permuted to the Jeivs thejudgment of zeal, againft thofe whom
they called Heretics, whom they tore to pieces, to execute the rigour of
the Jaw.
If we find that a Roman proconful would not concern himfelf with
queftions of their law, arifing without the bounds of their own country,
how much rather may we judge that they enjoyed an eutiic liberty within
Jndea? And, indeed, we find the priefts fending their commiffioners to
Damafcus (£) againft the Chriftians, without doubt with defign to exe-
cute the law againft impqftprs. St. Paul was beaten feveral times with
forty ftripes, faveone, which could not be upon any other pretence but
to obey the law in that matter.
Thefe proofs are fufficient to make out that the commonwealth of the
Jews fubfifted ftill in the fame manner as God inftiluted it.
And as for what concerns the overthrow of their religion, as God
had interwoven, the laws that regulated it, with thofe of their govern-
ment, fo that their religion was nothing elfe but a religious policy; it
is evident that, their government continuing at the time of Jefus Chrift,
we cannot doubt but that their religion, notwithstanding the corruption
which the Pharifees and traditionary Jews, whom Chrift continually
cenfures, had introduced, did ftill continue pure enough to anfwer the
model which God had framed.
They rejected the Samaritans, as appears from the ivth of St. John,
and looked upon them as Heretics, having no commerce with them.
They lived in a perfect alienation from the Heathen : it is with this
St. Peter begins his difcourfe to the affembly at the houfe of Cornelius^
Ails x. 28.
They lived in an exact obfervance of the folemn feafts which God
had prefcribed them, viz. the paiibver, pentecoft, the feaft of expiation,
and of tabernacles.
Theyobferved the feafts which their anceftors had joined to thefe upon
extraordinary occafions, as that of the dedication, that of Lots ; and
fome feafts which they kept then, as they do to this day. This appears
by the hiftory of the Gofpel, and by the acts of the A potties.
They affined at thefe folemn feftivals with much regularity.
Theydid not till their ground till the feventh year, according toGod's
command, which made the Heathen princes which were over them, to
releafe them from paying any tribute that year, as may be feen in Joje-
fhus and other authors.
They taught the law in their fynagogues, and that every fabbath
day.
They were fo fcrupulous in their obfervation of the fabbath, that
they accufed our Saviour for healing the fick on that day.
It appears that lepers were fequeftered, and that they obferved the
diftinction of the feveral kinds of leprofy, according to the law of
Mofes.
We find, by the hiftory of the Gadarenes, that fwine were looked upon
as unclean bcafts.
It
(£) Afts ix. 4.
Ch. III. Booh of the New Tejiament. 443
It is certain that they paid the tribute which was appointed for the
ufe or the temple, according to the law of Mofes^ and the re-eftab!i fo-
ment of that cuftom, which we find II. Chron. xxiv. 5. Jofephus (c)
tells us that this practice was continued till the deftru&ion of the temple.
We meet with the fame in Tacitus^ and other Heathen authors of that
iime.
1 acknowledge that at the fame time they were extremely corrupt in
their doctrines, with which Chrift upbraids the Pharifees and Sadducees :
but this corruption refpe£ted rather their morals, than the externals of
their religion; as appears plainly from hence, that Jefus Chrift upbraids
the Pharifees with their tithing mint and cummin, that is, with their
obfervance of outward niceties, whilft they neglected the very eflentials.
of piety.
They held that Heathens could not pafs for their neighbours ; from
whence it would follow, that God did not forbid them to bear falfe wit-
nefs againft a Heathen. Hence alfo they concluded that it was lawful
for them to kill their enemies ; and this fomented theirhatred and animo-
fity againft all other nations. It was on this account that the Difciples
of Jefus Chrift marvelled that he talked with a Samaritan woman.
Their decifions concerning adultery were no lefs corrupt, which they
declared to be no fin, fo long as it did not proceed to the outward act ;
which opinion of theirs was more grofs than that of many Heathens,
who had a truer idea of the purity of heart which God requires of us,
as well as that of the body. But yet this did not altogether deftroy their
religion, though it obfcured the excellency and fublimity thereof.
As for the Sadducees, befides that their errors were only fpeculative,
amongft the greateft part of them, it is certain that what the Gofpel
faith of their denying the exiftence of fouls and fpirits, and the doctrine:
of the refurre&ion, muft be underftood with fome qualification, as the
learned have folidly proved, and, amongft others, Dr. Lightfoot on the
Gofpel s.
And without repeating thofe things which fecured the prefervation of
their ftate, and which alio vifibly tended to the preferving of their reli-
gion, I fhall only obferve, that the Jews, at this day, with very little
difference, are found in the fame practices and opinions, as to their re-
ligion, which they had at the time of our Saviour.
Seeing, then, that after fo long a time of fixteen hundred years we
find no greater change in their belief (though their traditions are con-
fiderably increafed, the rules whereof they have infinitely multiplied, and
thereby increafed this corruption), how can it be imagined that the reli-
gion of the Jew s was wholly loft, or had no being at the time of our
Saviour Jefus Chrift?
Let this therefore be eftablifhed as a certain truth, That the common-
wealth of the Jews fubfifting entirely, it was eafy to know whether the
diftinclions which were necelTary to difcover and make known the
Meiliah, were ftill found in the ftate of the Jews and their religion.
This is that I am now going to make out.
CHAP. IV.
(0 Antiq. xviii. ch. xii.
444 Reflexions upon the Ch. IV,
CHAP. IV.
That all the Di/linftions neceffary for difcovering of the Messiah, Jiill
continued in the State of the Jews, at the Time of our Lord.
I DO not know whether any man can deny that circumcifion, which
is one of the principal marks of the Jews, was prac~tifed at that
time: if any one fhould dare to difpute this truth, we need only to
reprefent to him, that the main difpute between the fir ft Difciples of
Jefus Chnft and the "Jews, was about the obfervation of this cere-
mony.
Neither were the Jews only obilinate in this belief; but we find alfo
fha: fcbofi who fir ft embraced the Christian religion, maintained that the
Heari.ens themfelves ought to fubmit to the yoke of circumcifion, be-
fore they could enter into the Divine covenant, and enjoy tne privileges
of God's people, whom circumcifion diftinguifhed from the reft of the
World.
One fees, that though God fcattered the ten tribes, yet fome of them
ftill remained in Pale/line, and -were diftinctly known as fuch. This
appears from the Aits of the Apoftles, where mention is made of a widow
of the tribe of A/her ; and St. Paul boaftsof his being a Benjamite.
They upbraided Herod, notwithstanding he was their king, whh his
being an Edomite, and not originally a Jew.
One fees, that about Tyre and Sidon there remained .ftill a diftincl
knowledge of the Canaanites.
It is known that Galilee was lefs efteemed than Judea, becaufe many
of the Gentiles were fettled there, by which means the Jews of that pro-
vince were obliged to fome commerce with them ; from which thofc who
lived more diftinc"l, thought that they had a right to undervalue thofe
that were fettled in Galilee.
One may alfo boldly affert, that all places were ftill diftin&ly known
to what tribe they did belong. Thus it is obferved that Capernaum was
in the borders of Naphtali and Zebulun, that Bethlehem was in the tribe
Judah, which is related as a thing publicly known.
It is known that the priefts (till po fiefs the c ities which Jojhua had
affigned to them. Zacharias, the father of John the Bapiiji, dwelt at
Hebron (d), a city belonging to the priefts in the tribe of Judah.
One fees that even the Samaritan woman had a diftinct knowledge
of fome famous places in the Holy Land, as Jacob's Well, and the pof-
feflion which he gave to his fon Jojeph; and that thofe of her religion
took a prejudice againft the Jews, becaufe Jacob had built an altar at
Sichem.
One fees that they kept up the practice of redeeming their firft-born,
which at this day is Hill obferved by Jews.
As alfo the practice of polygamy, which was fo common amongftthem,
that St. Paul thought himfelf obliged to forbid the fame to the paftors of
- the
(</) Jofh. xxi, io, ii.
Ch, IV. Booh of the New Tejlament. 445
the Chriftian church, that he might abolifh it by little and little
amongft thofe that embraced the doctrine of Jefus Chrift.
One fees, from the nineteenth of St. Matthew^ that divorces were
pulicly practifed amongft them, as they are to this day.
If one makes any reflexion upon the objection the Sadducees made to
our Saviour, concerning the woman that fuccefiively had feven brothers
for her hufbands, we fhall perceive that the defire of pofterity being pre-
dominant amongft them, was the caufe of the continuance of this cuf-
tom, which began in the time of the patriarch Judah.
We have elfewhere taken notice of the extreme carefulnefs of the
yews, in preferving the marks of their daughters virginity, which has
conftantly continued down, fince the coming of our Saviour Jefus
Chrift.
The Gofpel, which informs us that the Jews were deprived of the
power of the fvvord, doth notwithftanding fufficiently fignify to us, not
only the extreme horror which the^iwhad conceived againft adultery
(thus we find Jefus Chrift upbraiding the Pharifees, that adulterers,
that is, the greateft of finners, entered into the kingdom of heaven before
them), but alfo that the laws againft adulterers and adukerelTes were
feverely executed.
In fhort, one fees, that by a judgment of zeal, as they call it, they
brought a woman to our Saviour which was taken in adultery, before
they went about to ftone her ; for one ought to know, that the law only
fubiected young women, who were defiled after a contiact, to that fort
of punifhment; becaufe, after they were once contracted, they were
reputed the wives of thofe to whom they were betrothed ; and fuch an
one was fhe of whom we read in the eighth chapter of St. John, and not
a perfon actually married, whofe punifhment, according to the law, was
to be ftrangled.
One fees that St. Paul fuppofeth, that the law which fubjected a
virgin to the will of her father, and gave him power to make void her
vows at pleafure, was ftill in force.
I will not mention here what the ancients tell us of the diftinction
which they fay was made between virgins and married women, as well
in the temple as in their fynagogues j I fhall only fay, that this their
tradition is not without ground.
It is known that the order eftablifhed by David for exercifing the
prieftly functions was exactly obferved by them : Zacharias was of the
courfe of Abia, which was the eighth in order, as is mentioned
I. Cbron. xxiv. 11. and he offered incenfe according to the law, fetdown
Exod. xxx. verfe 7, 8.
One fees that the Jews would not fufFer the dead bodies to hang upon
the crofs after funfet, according to what we find waspractifed at the
time of J?Jhua, in purfuance of that lav/ which we find Deut. xxi.
verfe 23.
I only mention thefe particulars now, intending hereafter, that I may
avoid tedious repetitions, to enlarge more exprefsly, when I fhall come
to fhew, as to every article, the exact accomplishment of the ancient
oracles concerning the Melfiah, in the perfon of our Saviour Jefus
Chrift j together with the ufe of thefe diftinctions which bar any other,
except
44-6 Reflexions upon the Ch. V.
except Jefus Chrift, from attributing that title to himfelf, and from
abufing the credulity of the yews.
It would be an eafy matter for me to make a numerous lift of thefe
characters, according to all the different oracles which God gave to the
"Jews on this fubjeft, and to juftify the exa£t fulfilling of them in the
perfon of Jefus Chrift. And indeed it was not without caufe that God
furnifhed his people with fo great a number of prophecies upon this
head, his defign being thereby to give us fuch folid grounds for our faith,
by granting to it all thefe fupports, that nothing might be able to
lihake it.
But becaufe all of them may be referred to certain heads, and that an
explication of the chief of them is fumcient to illuftrate the reft, I (hall
ilop there now.
I begin therefore with the character of the time in which the Meffiah
was to appear, and in which Jefus Chrift did actually come into the
world. And it being utterly impoflible for any man to choofe the time
of his birth, any more than to choofe an illuftrious forerunner, or a
certain place where, or a certain family of which he is to be born, and
much lefs of a virgin for his mother j thefe characters may fatisfy us,
that all thofe that ever pretended to the title of the Meffiah, could not
reafonably do it.
C H A P. V.
That the Time pointed out by the Prophets for the Coming of the Messiah,-
is the very Time in which Jesus Christ appeared to the World,
I HAVE made it appear, in the third part of thefe reflexions, that
the oracle of yacob, Gen. xlix. 10. 1 he fceptre Jhall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, contains
a formal character of the time in which our Saviour was to appear. I
am therefore at prefent to fhew, that the yews at that time had wholly
loft the authority of which they had been pofltfled for fo many ages,
which will mod evidently appear from thefe four Reflexions on the hiftory
of the Gofpel itfelf.
The firft is on the birth of Jefus Chrift, which happened precifely at
the time when rfuguflu* had ordered that all the fubje&s of the Roman
empire fhould be enrolled j when We find that fojeph and the Blefled
Virgin went to Bethlehem, their own city, to lift their names in the
regifter of the Roman magiftrate, which is an authentic proof of the
fervitude of that people to the Romans.
It will not be amifs here to talce notice, firft, of fifofes*$ numbering
the people by Divine authority ; fecondly, of the numbering which
David undertook, and for which he was exemplarily punifhed by God.
Now, as God caufed the people to be numbered, to ihew that they were
all
Ch. V. Books of the New Teftaimnt. 447
all his fuhje&s, and as David numbered them with the fame refpecl:, fo
we muft confider this action of Augu/his was a public teftimony of h:s
fovereignty over the Jews, who were fubdued by Pompey.
When Tertullian appealed to the public registers of the Roman empire,
in his apologetic addrefied to the Roman magiftrate who rtfided at
Carthage, he gave a fufficient evidence that we have no reafon to fufpedl:
the relation or' the Evangelifts. One may join to this, the manner of
the relation of thefe facts which the Evangelifts give us ; as, for infrance,
in the baptifm cf our Lord, they determine the years in which they were
done, not only by the year of the high prieft, but alio by thofe of Au-
gujius and Tilerius, &c.
The fecond reflexion may be made upon the character of one of the
Apoftles of Jefus Chrift, Levi, or Matthew, who, before our Saviour
made choice of him, was a publican : and it feems as if our Saviour had
on purpofe taken him from that employ, to be one of his Difciples, to
give a real inffance, and fuch a one as went every where along with
him, that the Jews, by paying tribute to the Roman empire, had wholly
loft their temporal authority, which was to continue till the coming of
the Mefiiah.
Here alfo may be made a third reflexion, which is very natural, upon
a palTage related by the Evangelifis. They come and afk our Saviour,
Whether it were lawful to yield obedience unto the Romans ? For fince
God had chofen thefe people, and had given them judges and princes of
his own choofing, they had always an extreme averfion for any foreign
domination : of this we have an illuftrious example at the time of the
fiege of Jerufalem, when, notwithstanding the remonstrances by Jeremy^
yet they could notconfentto fubmit. This is that with which they are
upbraided, Ezra iv. verfe 19. Neither were they more content with this
their ftate of bondage, at the time of our Saviour; and fome of their
zealots took this occafion to tempt our Saviour, that they might make
him odious, which fide foever heihould take. Their queftionis, Whe-
ther it be lawful to pay tribute to Caefar ? To which he anfwers, with a
Divine wifdom, Render to Caefar the things which are Caefar's, and unto
God the things that are God's ; which words being joined with the money
that he made them produce, which v/as ftamped with the emperor's
image, do evidently mew that the Romans were fovereign lords in Judea:
it is known that the coining of money is the undoubted mark of the
fovereignty of that prince who makes it pafs for current.
But if we muit give fome further light to the foregoing reflexions, we
need only obferve the manner of our Saviour's fufFenng, as it is de-
fcribed to us. The Jews do agree, as may be feen in the Jerufalem
Talmud (e), that criminal judgment was taken away from them forty
years before the deftruclion of Jerufalem ; and the Gofpel fuppofeth the
fame thing. The Jews did not put Jefus Chrift to death, but they car-
ried him to Pilate, and demanded that he might be crucified. When
Pilate fa id, Shall I crucify your king? they anfwer, IV e have no other
king but Caefar ; which confeinon was the confeflion of the whole Jcwijh
nation, who were affembled at the feaft| of paffover. In lhorc, one
ises, that accordingly the Roman magiftrate' paiTed fentence upon him. He
was
(t) Sanhtdr. fol. 24. 2.
448 Reflexion: upon the . Ch. V\
was fcourged before they led him to be crucified, which was a punifh-
jnent amongfl: the Romans. His body is not taken from the crofs but by
permifTion from Pilate; and the Roman foldiers are thofe dogs, that is,
profane heathens, who enclofed him and tormented him, according
to the defcription which David has made, Pfalm xxii.
The Jru>s have here but one anfwer to make, which God's former
dealing with that people feems fomewhat to countenance j which is,
that as their feventy years captivity under the Babylonian empire did
not hinder the deferring of the accomplifhment of that prophecy of the*
Jceptres not departing from Judah, for fome centuries after the faid cap-
tivity, fo neither is it necefiary to fuppofe that the Meffiah was to
fucceed immediately upon the ending of the kingdom of the Maccabees,
and upon the lofs of their liberty under Pompey.
But here is a very great difference ; for, firft, during the Babylonijh
captivity, God ftill preferved amongfl: them fome form of government,
the great lords of the country being chiefly carried away captives, whilft
the pooreft and moft miferable were left behind.
Secondly, the captivity lafted only 70 years, whereas this laft dif-
perhon hath lafted above 1600.
Thirdly, the firft captivity did not at all abolifh thofe neceffary marks
whereby the lawful lords of Judea might be diftinguifhed ; thofe that
were of the tribe of Judah, as well as thofe of other tribes, were very
well known, though they were not in pofTemon of the kingdom : whereas
now every thing is co-founded amongfl them ; and if one looks into
Chriftian records, he may find that many of the kindred of Jefus Chrift
were put to death, becaufe they could pretend to the throne of Judea.
Moreover, during the captivity of Babylon, they had Prophets amongfl:
them who exprefsly foretold the end of it ; whereas, nothing of that
kind has yet been fince the laft deftruction of Jerufalem, fince which time
no prophet has appeared amongfl them, that advantage being transferred
to the Chriftians, fome of which, who next fucceeded our Saviour, did
foretel the moft remarkable events that were to follow to the end of the
World.
But if any one fhould be fo nice as to call in queftion the reafons of
the difference here alledged ; at leaft the Jews will find nothing to object
againft the prophecy of Daniel, concerning the week at the end of which
the Mefliah was to appear, and afterwards to be cut off. In fhort, if it
be true that Jefus Chrift was born under the empire of Augujlus, it is no
lefs certain that he entered upon his miniftry in tho fifteenth year of
Tiberius, and was crucified the nineteenth of his reign, that is, in the
midftof the four hundred eighty-feventh year from the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes, that is, before the end of the laft week pointed out by Daniel^
as I have fhewed in the eighth chapter of the third part of this book.
CHAP. VI.
Cn. VI. BeoksoftbeNauTeJla7nent> 449
CHAP. VI.
That Jesus Christ had precifely fuch a Forerunner as the Prophets had
defer ibed to precede //;* Messiah.
ONE will eafily judge that it was agreeable to the greatnefs of
the Mefliah, and the contemptible ftate wherein he was to appear
to the world, that he fhould have a forerunner ; accordingly, we
find Ifaiab expelling himfelf in this manner, the year of the world 3292,
almoft 700 years before the birth of our Saviour. Malachi had exprefsly
foretold the "fame in his prophecy, about 420 years before his appearance.
If this be once granted, it is eafy to conceive that the fon of a prieft,
Jiving without any worldly fplendor, and dying a violent death, though
very glorious for him, was a proper forerunner to that Jefus who
himfelf was to be crucified.
Our bufinefs therefore is to inquire whether the characters which the
Prophets give to the forerunner of the Mefliah, do agree with 'John the
Baptift, in whom the Chriftians maintain that this prophecy of Malachi
was fulfilled. This may be eafily made out.
Firfr, John the Baptijl was miraculoufly conceived, at a time when his
parents could not promife themfelves any fuch thing : the angel Gabriel,
who had declared to Daniel the coming of the Mefliah, by pointing out
to him the number of weeks, was the meffenger of the conception of this
forerunner of the Mefliah. Several things pafTed at his birth, and at the'
time when they gave him his name, which were very Arrange, and which,
could not but be generally known, as well becaufe of the accident which,
happened to Zacharias in the temple, as of his quality, being a prieft.
Secondly, the extraordinary life which St. John led, being a Nazarite,
ought to be carefully confidered. He lived in a folitary place, as the
Prophet Elijah did before him.
Thirdly, his preaching alfo had the character of that ancient Prophet,
being thundering, as his was : he neither fpared great men, nor thofe who
had the reputation of the greateft fanclity; as the Pharifees particularly,
whofe pride and hvpocrify he touched to the quick.
Fourthly, he fet forth the coming of the Mefliah as at the door ; The
kingdom of heaven, faid he, is at hand ; alluding to the feventh of Daniel*
where the kingdom of the Mefliah is reprefented as a kingdom which
was to come down from heaven, whereas the former empires had their
rife from the earth.
In fhort, nothing could be more illuftrious than the miniftry of this
great man.
He baptized publicly, for the fpace of one year, fuch as came to him,
folemnly engaging them to repentance, in hopes of the fudden appear-
ance of the Mefliah. This ceremony, which was an imitation of their
cuftom of initiating profelytes in the Jewijh religion, was plainly an
eflay to eftablifh a new religion, or at Jeaft to reform thofe corruptions
which time had introduced into the Jewijh religion,
Vol. I, Ft In
45<5 Reflexions upon the Ch. VL
In a word, we find him fo generally followed, that the great council
of the Jews thought fit to fend deputies to him, to know whether he
were not the Mefliah they expected : this great man was fo far from
abufing the great credit he had gained, that he folemnly protefted that
he was only the forerunner of the Mefliah, who was already come, but
was as yet concealed in the midft of them.
His glory became fo illuftrious, that it ftirred up jealoufy in the mind
of Herod, who call him into prifon, and at laft caufed his head to be
cut off in the caftle of Macherom, to fatisfy the lewd Herodias, whofe
marriage, or rather inceft, with Herod, he had reproved.
Before St. John was beheaded, he fends his Difciples to Jefus Chrift,
to inform himfelf whether he were the Mefliah; which our Saviour
proves to them by the miracles which he wrought in their prefence, and
by the teftimony of the Prophet Ifaiah, which St. John had before
alledged as a proof of his call.
All thefe fa£ts were fo illuftrious, and fo well known, that St. John
conftantly pafied for a great Prophet amongft the Jews, the Pharifees
themfelves not daring to queftion it : he received public deputations
from the Jews, who demanded the reafon of his miniftry ; and he him-
felf fent one to Jefus Chrift, that his Difciples might be acquainted with
him, and that they might give him a fecond public teftimony ; and laft
of all, he dies a glorious martyr for his purity, after he had made a vaft
number of Difciples, who were fo well difperfed in all places, that
St. Luke tells us, in the Afts, that fome of them were found in Afia, who
received the Gofpel and the gifts of the Spirit, in which they had been
as it were initiated already by thebaptifm of St. John.
It appears afterwards that St. John was looked upon as the forerunner
of the Mefliah : Jefus Chrift faith he was the greateft of all the Pro-
phets ; and when Herod heard of the reputation of Jefus Chrift, hefup-
pofed that St. John was raifed from the dead.
The Jews not conceiving that John the Baptiji was the forerunner of
the Mefliah, becaufe they underftood the prophecy of Malachi literally^/)
which alfo make the LXX add to the text the word Thijbite, in that paf-
Jage of Malachi-, therefore Jefus Chrift declares* that it was indeed he
of whom Malachi had fpoken,
1 acknowledge that John the Baptiji did not do any miracle ; but then
he uttered, i. fo plain an oracle concerning the miraculous efFufion of
the gifts of the Holy Ghoft upon the Difciples, that we find nothing fo
great or fo clear in all the ancient prophecies : He that comes after me,
faith he, Jhall baptize you with the Holy Ghoji, and with fire.
2. He gave a fecond oracle, though not fo plain as the former, con-
cerning the deftruclion oijerujalem : Whoje fan is in his hand, and he will
thoroughly purge hisfoor, and will burn up the chaff ' ivith fire.
Thefe two oracles contain the end of the old difpenfation, and the
beginning of the new : the miraculous gifts of the Spirit were given to
facilitate the publifhing of the Gofpel among the Gentiles; and the
deftruction of Jerufalem, and of the temple, happened as well to punifh
the crime which the Jeivs had committed when they put the Mefliah to
death,
(/) Mai. lv. 5.
Ch. VL Booh of the New 7e/?ament, 451
death, as to take away all their pretences of believing that the Mefliah
was not come, who was to appear whilft that temple flood.
But, before I conclude this chapter, 1 muft obferve three or four thing?,
\vhich are very neceflary to confirm the authority of the teftimony which
this forerunner of the Mefliah hath given to Jefus Chrift.
It is a maxim amongft the Jews, that he who is acknowledged for a
Prophet, may confirm the authority of another, by attefting him to be
a true Prophet^). And this is that which St. John did to Chrift ; he
was generally accounted a Prophet, and he attefted that Jefus Chrift
was fo. This was that which confounded the elders of the Jews, when
they demanded of our Saviour, By what authority John acted ? Jefus
Chrift anfwered their queftion with another, Whether St. John had a
call from God ?
The firft obfervation therefore is, That we cannot accufe him of act-
ing underhand with Jefus Chrift, for we do not find any correfpondence
kept up between them : one of them was the fon of a prieft, the other
of a carpenter's wife ; the one dwelt in Judea, the other in Galilee ; the
one concealed himfelf, whilft the other's reputation had got him a great
many Difciples. The Difciples of the one were very jealous of the
Difciples of the other, and endeavoured to infpire their mafter with the
jealoufy that polTefled themfelves.
The fecond is, That the Difciples of Jefus are the perfons that wrote
the hiftory of John the Baptijl, which they do as thofe who were con-
cerned for his glory and reputation ; though at firft they did not ftand in
the leaft by him, but rather by that means inflamed Heroes hatred
againft them, who contributed to the death of St. John, as well as of
Jefus Chrift.
The third is, That when St. John was beheaded, who never had any
correfpondence with Jefus Chrift, it is extravagant to conceive, that the
Difciples of Jefus Chrift fhould have forged the teftimony which they fay
this great man gave to Chrift, becaufe this would have been to employ
the authority of a man who, never having wrought any miracles, and
being long iince beheaded by the order of Herod, feemed to be quite
forgotten.
The fourth is, That it is not probable that they could ever entertain
a defign of impofing on the world in fuch a manner as this, which related
to public facts known to all Judea, to all the priefts, yea, to the whole
nation affembled at their public feafts, to Herod the king, and to
the Difciples of John themfelves, Who would not have been wanting to
refute and convince them ; whereas, on the contrary, we fee, that by the
difpofition which St. John had wrought in them, they were eafily won
to the faith of Chrift. This is evident, from the example of Apollos, a
Difciple of John the Bapti/l's Difciples, who became afterwards fo ex-
cellent a preacher of the Chriftian religion.
{e) Maimond* de fundam. legi
Ff2 CHAP. VII.
452 Reflexions upon the Ch. VII.
CHAP. VII.
That Trsus Christ was born of the Family of David, then reduced to a
mean Condition, as had been already foretold by the Prophets,
WE have confidered the time in which our Saviour was to be
born ; let us now fpealc of" the family from whence he was to
proceed. It has been proved already, that this promife was made to
the family of David by Nathan the Prophet, II. Sam. vii. 12. I Chron.
xvii. 11. in the year of the world 2959. David repeats this his hope,
Pfalm Ixxxix. 4. and Pfdm exxxii. 11. And about the year of the
world 3292, the Prophet Ijaiah adds further, that the Meiliah mould
be in a deipicable condition.
There are four things which fully confirm this truth.
The firft is, the kindred which was between Elizabeth and the BlefTed
Virgin, whence it appeared that her relations were of the tribe of
Judah, and that (he was known to be of the family of David.
One ought to obferve here a thing, which though at firft fight feems
to be of fmall importance, yet we cannot but think that St. Luke wrote
it without defign ; and that is, the journey of the BlefTed Virgin to one
of the cities oi Judah, after her conception, to vifit Elizabeth her kinf-
woman, the wife of Zachariah, and the mother of John the Baptijl. I
fhall not mention at prefent any other reafons of this journey, which may
feem to be worthy of the Divine wifdom ; and fo I fhall only obferve at
prefent, that this vifit was made to Elizabeth in a city of Judah, which
is a demonftrative proof that Jefus Chrift was of the family of David',
and confequently of that of Judah \ fo that this is far from being made
ufeof as an objection againit it, as fome have done.
. It is well known, that the priefts had leave to take a wife of what tribe
they plcafed : but who fees not at firft fight, that it was natural for a
prieft, dwelling in one of the cities of Judah, to marry in that tribe
amongft whom he lived ; befides that the priefts had of a long time
affe£ted to make alliances with that tribe, before any other ?
The fecond thing which ought to be joined to this, is, the manner
of Elizabeth's expreifing herfelf to the Bleifed V irgin, confidering her as
bearing the Mefliah in her womb ; and upon this account (he called her
the Mother of my Lord, alluding to Pfalm ex.
The third is, that the Blefled Virgin, in her fong, where me fpeaks
of herfelf as the perfon in whom the promife made to Abraham was
accomplifhcd, Luke i. verie 54, 55. which promife concerned the
Mefliah, fets forth herfelf as heirefs to the kings of Judah, and
chofen before any of her anceitors, notwithftanding all their glory :
He hath put down, faith fhe, the mighty from their feats, and hath exalted
them of lew deg\
The fourth is, that Zachariah the prieft, who was well acquainted
with the Blefled Virgin, at whole houle (he had been during the firft
three months of her being with child, and who could nut be ignorant
of
Ch. VII. Boo^ks of the New Tejlament. 453
of her lineage, always owned her to be of the family of David. It is evi-
dent that he looked upon the Bleffed Virgin ac. the mother of the Meffiah,
as well as Elizabeth his wife. He feems to have confidered the infant
that was to be born of her, as the Redeemer prom 1 fed to Abraham, and
the Bleffed Virgin as the heirefs of David; and therefore laith, That
God had ralfcd up an horn of falvatlon for us in the houfe of his fcrvant Da-
vid. There can be nothing more convincing than this observation; for,
fLft, Zachariah was a priefr, that is, one of thofe to whom the care of
the genealogies of the Jews was committed. 2. He appears to have
been very well verfed in the prophecies which fixed the Meffiah to the
family of David. 3. He confidered his fon as the forerunner of the Mef-
fiah, when he propofed that the oracle of Malachi fhould be fulfilled in
that fon whom God had fo miracuoufly bellowed upon him. 4. He
needed only have examined the agreements of her marriage, and he
would then certainly know whether the Bleffed Virgin was not of ano-
ther tribe, which would have cured him of any pofiibie illuiion.
In fhort, St. Luke obferves verv exactly, that this journey of the Vir-
gin to her kinfwoman, and all the circumftances which prove the Bleffed
Virgin to have been of the family of David, were things well known
throughout all the hill-country of Judea, that it might not be pretended
that this important facTt was any wayc obfeure.
But, fecondly, this genealogy of Jefus Chriff. is carried up to David
Ihd Judah ; and it is vifible that this was a thing exactly known, efpe-
cially lince Jefus Chrift always paffed for the fon of David, blind men
themfelves calling him fo.
■ A third thing to be confidered is, the Bleffed Virgin's going to Beth'
lehcm ,to be there enrolled, according to the decree of Auguflus Cajar.
There had been feveral numberings of the people ; the firlt was at the
appointment of God himfelf ; the fecond was by an order from David ;
and in both, an exact diltiniStion was made between the tribes themfelves,
and the families of each tribe : and one fees that the fame was obferved
in this [aft regilter, which was made by Augvfus'% decree in the 4000th
year of rhe world.
Jofiph and Mary went up to Bethlehem, which was the feat of David's
famuy : nothing appears here of dehgn or affectation : they made no
ftay at Bcihubcm, and the occaiion that brought them thither was abfo-
lutely ltrange and unlooked for ; and yet it was certainly an accomplifh-
ment of that prophecy of Alicah, chap. v. verfe 2. But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, &c.
\ his remark upon the decree of Auguflus is of great moment, becaufe
thereby the Virgin's being of the family of Daiid appears to be the moffc
indifputable truth in the world, as having been owned fiift by the whole
family of Judah for three months; fecondly, by the geneaiogv which
fub lifted entire, as the Talmudljis themfelves grant in the treatile de Spon-
jui. chap. iv. feci. 5. where they teftify that the genealogy of the royal
family was'without difficulty ; thirdly, by the public teltimony of all
their kindred, who met in a body before the Roman magiftrate.
The fourth remark is, that when Herod knew of the birth of the
Meffiah at Bethlehem, where, by the confeffion of the Jews, he was to be
bom, he would have involved Jefus Chrift in the maffacre which fwept
F f 3 away
454 Reflexions upon the Ch. VII.
away the innocent children, if the fame Providence which brought him
to Bethlehem, to demonftrate that he was of the houfe of David, had noc
withdrawn him from thence, topreferve him from that tyrant who was
afraid of being caft from his throne by one of David's heirs.
The fifth is, that Jefus Chrift did not only often allude to the place
of his birth, in calling himtelf the Bread come down from Heaven, the
word Bethlehem fignifying rhe Houfe of Bread, but he conftantly owned
himfelf for the fon of David. Upon this it is that he grounds the objec-
tion which he makes to the Jtws ; How is it that David calls the MeJJiah
his Lord ? And indeed this facl: was lo conftantly owned by all, that
even perfons who were pofTefled with devils did not difpute it, as may
be feen in the Evar.gelifts.
The fixth is, that though two of the Evangelifts fet down the genea-
logy of our Saviour, with fome difference, yet the Jews never took occa-
ilon from thence to queftion Jefus Chrift's defcent from David ; his
Apoftles always building on that foundation ; which may be feen as a
thing taken for granted in St. Peter's fermon, Acls ii. and in the epiftles
of St. Paul, where we find our Saviour always ftiled the Son of David
according to the flefh.
To thefe already mentioned we may add the three following obferva-
tions. The firft is, that if the Genealogy of our Saviour had not been
diftinclly known, the Apoftles would never have troubled themfelves to
have fet it down ; much lei's would they have placed it in the front of
their books, as knowing that the beginnings of books are always more
examined than the ends, and would certainly be fo by a people who
always ftuck very clofe to their genealogies. In fhort, either the genea-
logies of the Jews were at that time as confufed as they are at prefent,
and fo they could not have ferved as characters to difcover the MefTiah
by ; in which cafe the Apoftles would have contented themfelves to have
hinted that Jefus Chrift always paffed for the ton of David, as they have
done in feveral places of their writings, without giving us the whole fe-
ries of his pedigree 5 or elfe they were at that time diftin£tly known, in
which cafe it was the eafieft thing in the world to have confuted them.
The fecond is, that the differences which are found between the ge-
nealogy of Jefus Chrift fet down by St. Matthew, and that by St. Luke,
is fo far from giving us an occafion to doubt of the Apoftles faithfulnefs
in this matter, that indeed it is a new proof of their ex:.&nefs in a mat-
ter of fo great importance ; for it can fcarcely be imagined but that, in fo
Jong a feries of ages, there muft have been iome of the anceftors of our
Saviour in which that law took place, which obliged the younger bro-
ther to marry the widow of his elder brother deceafed without iffue, and
fo to raife up feed to him, which gave occafion to a genealogy not natu-
ral, but legal, the children bearing the name of the deceafed elder bro-
ther, and pofTefTing his eftate. Now the Evangelifts have fet down both
thefe genealogies exactly, which is an invincible argument of their care
and fidelity.
The third is, that it was fo much the more necefTary to make this
remark in the genealogy of the Mefliah, becaufe, as we have obferved
elfewhere, it was with relation to the defire of giving birth to the Mef-
fiah, or of having children which might live under his empire, that God
at
Ch. VII. Books of the New Teflament. 455
at firft permitted this kind of inceft with the widow cf a deceafed bro-
ther, which otherwife was fo feverely prohibited by the law.
As to the low eftate to which the family of David was then reduced,
it is vifible that David and Sohmon reigned with great glory; but Reho-
boam fucceeding them, ten tribes fell from him to Jeroboam, in the year
of the world 3029 ; and the pofterity of Rehoboam was afccrwards de-
throned by Nebuchadnezzar, who carried Zedechiah the king into capti-
vity in the year 3416.
After their return from captivity, they were entirely thruft from the
throne : the priefts at firft governing that nation ; the Maccabees, who
were of the family of Levi, reigning in Judca, from the return of the
captivity of Babylon, until Herod the Edomite, who was made mafter of
Judca by the favour of the Romans.
2. The family of David was at that time removed from their ancient
feat, and was now fixed at Nazareth, where Providence feems to have
removed them from Bethlehem, to take away that object of Herod's jea-
loufy, which would have offended him ; as we fee it did, when the wife
men acquainted him with the birth of Jefus, which obliged him to make
a diligent inquiry after the place where the Mefliah was to be born;
that Mefliah whom he conceived to be a prince, who would rob him of
the fovereignty to which he was raifed.
In the third place, the Bleffed Virgin was betrothed to a carpenter.
Jujiin Martyr tells us that Jefus Chrift made ploughs. See what the
heirs of the kings of Judah were reduced to.
Fourthly, when fhe came to Bethlehem, fhe lodged in an inn, her kin-
dred being not in a condition to afford her better accommodation.
It appears that the Divine Providence was very careful in executing
this defign. There were fome decays of the family of David, which,
the Bleffed Virgin expreffes in her fong. She was defcended from the
younger brothers of depofed princes, and reduced to a private ftate : fhe
/peaks of nothing but of lownefs and meannefs, not only in a way of
humility, but to demonftrate the fulfilling of the prophecy concerning
the throne of JeJJe.
But that this might appear more evidently, and confirmed by the law,
as it was her duty to prefent her fon in the temple after the feventh day,
with an offering, fo fhe does not offer what is prefcribed to the rich and
wealthy, but an offering which is appropriated by God in the law to poor
people, as appears Lev. xii.
One fees, by the marriage feaft at Cana in Galilee, that the kindred of
Jefus Chrift were not very rich : their wanting of wine on fuch an
occafion was no great mark of plenty.
One fees alfo, that Jefus Chrift frequently reprefents himfelf as not
having where to reft his head : on the crofs he recommends his mother
to one of his Diiciples, and was himfelf maintained by thofe who fol-
lowed him.
F f 4 CHAP. VIII.
%$t) Reflexions upon the Ch. VIII,
CHAP. VIII.
7 hat Jesus Christ was conceived by the Virgin Mary, without any
Operation of Man.
AS this article is one of the moft important of our religion, {o it is
well worth our attentive confuleration. We may take notice
here, that, according to the obfervation of Juftin Martyr (h}, the fable
of Pcrfeus took its rife from the prophecy of Jfaiah. However, that pro-
phecy being very exprefs, according to the translation of the LXX, we
are to coniider how it was accomplished. It will not be enough here
to fay, that ordinarily extreme poverty is a fufficicnt bar againft the
fufpicion of adultery ; and therefore wedefire the reader only to call to
mind theobfer. ations fet down in the fecond chapter of the fecond part
of thefe Reflexions on the Books of the law of Mofes. For
1. Polygamy and divorces were very frequent in the time of Jcfus
Chrift, as appears from feveral pafiages of the Gofpel, where God was
pleafed to give us examples thereof.
2. God was willing to give us inftances of his Severity againft adul-
tereffcs, amongft which thofe were reckoned who fufrered themfelves to
be defiled after they were betrothed. We have an example hereof in the
eighth chapter of the Gofpel according to St. John, which I have illuf-
trated in the fourth chapter of this fourth part.
3. It appears that the fame laws which engaged parents to preferve
the virginity of their daughters, did continue, and were ftill obferved
by the jews, as well as thofe other laws which conftituted the body of
their religion : when Jefus Chrift upbraids the yews for having changed
the trueienfe of the law, yet he never reproacnes them upon this ac-
count.
4. The relation fct down in the eighth chapter of St. John, makes it
appear that the waters of jcaloufy ftill retained their virtue ; that which
JefusChrift writ on the ground being probably nothing elfe but thecurfes
which the law denounced againft the woman that ihould violate her
honour.
I have made it very evident, in the twentieth chapter of my ft cond part,
what was the ufe of thofe laws concerning the marks of virginity, to
prevent any doubts that might arife concerning the fame: n remains
now to confider the feveral pafiages of the Evangel ills, and to fee what
proofs we can find there to confirm this point, that Afafy was indeed a
virgin when fhe conceived Jefus Chrift, and how we may anfwer the
obje&i ns which the enemies of Chriftianity make againft this t: uth.
The Evangelifts tell us that this remarkable i'.ici was declared by the
Angel Gabriel., who had before foretold to Daniel the coming of the Mef-
fiah, and ligiiified the exact time thereof. Trie conception oilfqac by
a barren mother, as well as that of Samuel 2nd John the Baptifl, had been
already
(b) Dial, cum Txpb. p. 297. Ifai, C.
Qh. VIII. Books of the New TeJIament. 457
already declared in the fame manner ; and one miracle ought to ferve as
a preparation for the belief of a greater.
When the Difciples of Jefus Chrift fpeak of the fact, they fpeak of it
as a thing; known throughout all Jerufalcm, and which had no relation to
their matter. Befides, we know the jealoufy that was between the Dif-
ciples of St. John and thofe of our Saviour.
But we have a further account befides of the mefTage of an Angel to
Jo/cpb, after he had perceived that his betrothed wife was with child ;
for when he was ready to divorce her, either by expofing her to the ri-
gour of the Divine law, Deut. xxii. 23. or elfe by exempting her from
that extremity, he is diverted from his intention by this warning from
heaven. In all which we meet with nothing but what is very probable;
for Jofeph exprefTes his hatred and diilike, as conceiving her to be de-
bauched, and was refolved not to receive her, but by an order from
heaven.
Moreover it is very remarkable, that we find all things recited in
fuch a manner, as it was neceflary they fhould come to pafs, on fup-
pofition that the Median was to be born of a virgin of the houfe of
David.
For, firft, we find this event appeared incredible to the perfon herfelf
who was defigned to effect it, becaufe (he could not eafily n/ake the
application at firft.
2. It caufed exceeding joy to the perfon who faw herfelf chofen by
God to fulfil fo glorious a promife, whereby the family of David was
to be reftored to its ancient luftre. This is evident from the hymn of
the B.effed Virgin ; which if we compare with the Pfalms of David, we
fhall fee that that family flill retained all the piety of their anceftors,
with ail thofe figns of acknowledgment which an event of fuch a nature
did juftly require.
3. reappears that y^/>/;acquiefced in this truth, he who otherwifedid
, em very credulous, till he was inftru&ed from heaven concerning
iter fo rare and difficult to be conceived. He retires for fometime
Egypt, and affords Mary and her fon all the fervice they could rea-
fonab ; expect from him.
St. Jerome alledges three reafons why it was needful for the Blefied
Virgin to be betrothed to Jofeph (».).
1. That the original of the Blefied Virgin might be proved by the
pedigree of Jofeph, to whom fhe was related.
2. That, according to the law of Mofes, fhe might not be ftoned as an
aduiteref-.
3. That in her flight info Egypt fhe might have the comfort of a guar-
dian rather than of a hufband. ,
Neither can any thing be oppofed to the belief of thefe matters, but
fonie very weak conjedcures : the firft is, that her being contracted doth
fomethirig obfeure the diftinft notion of virginity; and iecondly, that
toe Blefied Virgin did always pafs for the wife of Jofeph, even accord-
to the ftyle of Jefus Chrift hirrifelfj and laftJy, that the relation
h the Evangel ills give of this matter, was not known till long after
lac death of Jefus Chrift.
But
(/') Cpntr. Hd-vldium.
458 Reflexions upon the Ch. VIII,
But it is an eafy matter to fatisfy the mind of any reafonable reader
in this thing. It was necefl'ary that the Blefled Virgin fhould be
betrothed :
i. To fecure her life, which would have been in danger if fhe had
been delivered whilft me was repuud to be a virgin; for fhe would
have been accufed of whoredom, and confequently have been put to
death.
2. It was necefTary fhe mould be betrothed, and pafs for the lawful
wife of Jofeph, that her (on might not be banifJied from the congregation
of Ifrael, as a baftard, in the rigour of the law.
As for the other objection, I eafily grant that the BlefTed Virgin
always palled for the wife of Jofeph : fhe herfelf faith, / and thy father
fought thee. But withal, at that very time, Jefus Chrift unveiled that
myftery in the prefence of all the Jews, maintaining that he was the Son
of God, in whofe houfe he was at that time : it was at a folemn feaft of
the Jews, where the whole nation was afiembled, and in the midft of an
aflembly of their Doctors, that he declared the temple to be the houfe of
his Father, as he afterwards confhmtly called it.
^ We find him, at another time, declaring the fame in the prefence of
his family at Cana in Galilee : Woman, what have 1 to do with thee ? faith
he to the Blefled Virgin {k) ; to put her in mind of fome pafTages which
could not but preferve in her a very particular refpedr. for him.
He gives yet a further degree of light into this matter, when, his
mother feeking to come at him, he faith, Who is my mother, and who are
my brethren ? that is, kinfmen. It is probable that Jofeph was dead before
our Saviour entered upon his miniftry ; however, his making no mention
of his reputed father, fhews how careful he was to avoid any thing that
might obfcure his miraculous birth.
Lafl of all, it is very confiderable, that this paffage being not the
only character which was to diftinguifh theMefliah from all others, but
was to be confirmed by the miracles of Jefus Chrift, by his refurrec\ion,
and thofe other proofs of his Divine nature, it was at nrft not much in-
filled on, becaufe there was a necefHty that it fhould continue veiled for
fome time, upon the account of the frequent apparitions of Angels, and
of God himielf in a human form, that fo the truth of his humanity
ihould be eftablifhed by his life and death, before the publication of his
miraculous conception.
For it is certain that the Apofiles preached up this truth, and that the
Evangelifts had put it in writing before the deftrudticn of the Jcwijh
commonwealth ; and yet we do not find that it was ever contefted. The
Evangelifts defcribe the methods which the Jeivs took to make the
refurreclion of Chrift to be doubted of, and to flight his miracles ; and do
we think they would not as well have given us'the objections of the Jews
againft a thing of which till then never any inftance had been known
in the world ?
I know very well that fome of the ancients have told us that the Jews
were offended, that the Blefled Virgin, after fhe was delivered ot our
Saviour, fhould feat herfelf in the place appointed for virgins ; and
that, becaufe Zacharias the prieft maintained her in fo doing, he was
thereupon
(k) John ii. 4.
Cm. IX. Books of the New Teflament. 459
thereupon killed by them between the temple and the altar, with which
our Saviour upbraids the Jews. I know alio that they affirm that fhe
was forced to confirm the truth of her virginity, by f ibmitting herfelf
to a fearch of matrons: yet I cannot believe that fhe ever underwent
any fuch examination, of which the iilence of the Evangeliits, and St.
Luke's in particular, fully convinces me ; and therefore I am inclined to
think that no fuch objection was ever made againft her.
In the mean time, it is well worth our noting, I. That the BlefTed
Virgin had Zachariah the prieft as an examiner and witnefs of her beha-
viour from the beginning, at whofe houfe (lie abode during the firft
months of her being with child, and who publicly divulged the miracu-
lous birth of his own fon, and his leaping in his mother's womb at the
falutation of the BlefTed Virgin.
2. That the BlefTed Virgin lived many years after the paflion of our
Saviour, that fhe might undergo and anfwer any accufations of that
nature.
3. That fhe alfo had for witnefTes of the miracles which attended
her conception, all the Difciples of St. John, as well as thofe of Jefus
Chrift, though the Difciples of St. John did not agree with the Difciples
of Jefus Chrift.
4. That what fhe declared of herfelf, was not a fa£t which had no
traces whereby it might be examined in the Old Tejiament.
5. That the Jews had thirty years to examine the feveral particulars
which had relation to the Mefiiah, and the miraculous manner of his
birth, at the time when fhe publifhed this particular paftage of her life.
6. That we cannot call in queftion the veracity of the BlefTed Virgin
in the account which fhe gives us of what concerned herfelf, of which
no witnefs could be produced, forafmuch as the accomplifhment of that
part of her prophecy, that all nations Jhould call her blejfed, clearly fhews
that fhe had received the fpirit of prophecv; no more than we can
fufpe&any forgeries in the relations of other Prophets, though we have
no other teftimony concerning them, but that of the Prophets them-
felves.
CHAP. IX.
That Jesus Christ lived and preached after the fame Manner as the
Prophets had foretold the Messiah Jhould do.
I HAVE clearly fhewn that Jefus Chrift was born of the pofterity of
Adam, by Seth, by Noah, by Abraham, by Ifaac, by Jacob, by Ju-
dah, by David, as it was foretold of the Mtfliah by the moft ancient
oracles, the increafe of which I have already taken notice in my third
part.
I have afterwards fhewed, that Jefus Chrift was born of a virgin,
whereby
460 Reflexions upon the Ch. IX.
whereby thofe oracles, The feed of the woman fhall bruife thy head (/), and
A \ virgin Jball conceive and bear a fin {m), feemed to be clearly accom-
plifhed. Let us now fee, according to thofe oracles, what kind of per-
fon the Meffiah was to be, from his birth to his death, according to thofe
ideas which the Prophets have given us.
A/ofes exprefsly telis us, Dcut. iS. that the Meffiah was to refemble
him ; The Lord thy God will raife up unto thee a Prophet like unto me («) :
which place, as i have obferved before, has been fa conftanrly applied
to the Meffiah, that it appears that not only John the Bapti/l, when he
fent hisDifciples to Jefus Chrift, Philip fpeaking to Nathanael, and the
Difciples when they were afked by our Saviour who he was, but alfo the
Samaritan woman, underftood it fo without the leaft hefitation, and faid,
That when the Meffiah fhould come, he would tell them all things.
In ihort, one fees an exa£l proportion between Mofes and Jefus Chrift ;
not only becaufe our Savtour was faved in his infancy from the hand of
Herod, and from a river of blood, like another Mofes ; or becaufe Egypt
ierved for a retreat to him, as Mofes had hid himlelf in Arabia ; or be-
caufe he was rejected of his brethren, thofe of Nazareth, who would
have thrown him headlong from a rock, becaufe he declared himfelf to
be the promifed deliverer and Meffiah, by applying to himfelf the words
of lfaiaby The Jpirit of the Lord is upon me, Sec.
Neither fhah 1 now take notice of his being defpifed and difowned by
his brethren, and called a Galilean, whereas indeed he was of Judca ;
for indeed the Meffiah was to be treated as a Nazarcne, that is, a con-
temptible perfon, and a man of no confideration : for we may find that
becaufe our Saviour was brought up at Nazareth, though he was born at
Bethlehem, he was therefore looked upon as a perfon incapable of any
thing that was great ; Can any good thing come out o/*Nazareth ? faid Na-
thanael to Philip (0) ; and the lJharifces to the officers whom they had
ient to take Jelus, Search and look, for out of Galilee arifeth no Prophet,
much lefs the great Prophet, the Meffiah, who by wav of eminence is
fo called. It is upon this account that he was called a Galilean, not only
by the Heathens, but by his own Difciples too ; for the woid Galilean
icems to have been a name for one of an impure extraction, becaufe many
of other nations dwelt among the Jews in Galilee. But I (hall take no-
tice of fcveral other more important refemblanccs between them, and
fuch as have relation to theminiftry of Mofes rather than his perfon, by
referring all to his preaching, his miracles, his predictions, and fome
other heads of that nature.
Firil, then, Jefus Chrift, that he might at tuft maintain the character
of the Meffiah, appears in the temple. John the Baptijl had heard him
called the Son of God, by a very peculiar witnefs, a voice from heaven.
Wherefore we fee that, at his full entry upon his miniftry, he drives out
thofe that profaned the houfe of God, whom he called his Father, with
a fcourge ; and this he did at the fcaft of the paflover, before the whole
nation of the Jew
Here is another character of the Meffiah ; he was to begin the exercife
of
(/) Gen. iii. 19. (m) Ifai. vii. 14.
(«) Deut. xviii. 15; {o) John i. 4.6.
(/) John ii. 13, 14, 15, &c.
Ch. IX. Booh of the NewTejIament. 46 1
of his minitterial functions, in the tribes of Napbtali and Ztbulon, accord-
ing to the prophecy of Jfaiah (q) : and this our Saviour exactly accom-
pli filed bv his beginning to preach at Nazareth, which was in the tribe
of Zebulon ; and he converfed much at Capernaum, which was in the
tribe of Naphtali, according to the obfervation of the Evangelifts.
But I proceed to conlider fome circumftances of his miniftry. Ifaiab
had foretold that the Meffiah was to preach the GoQiel to the poor ;
which Jefus applies to himfelf in the fynngogue at Nazareth, declaring
that in his perfon that prophecy was fulfilled ; viz.. The fpirit of the Lord
God is upon me, wherefore the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek, &c. (r).
The choice which he made of his Difciples from among the meaneft
of the people, and the bafeft of the crowd which followed him when-
ever he went, ought to pais for a fufficient accomplifhment of this pro-
phecy.
The Mefliah, according to thereprefentation which Ifaiah gives us of
him, was to publifh the tidings of the remiffion of fins; and was not
this that which Jefus Chrift did, during the courfe of his miniftry ?
The Meffiah was to preach the remiffion of fin, in fuch a manner,
as that he might dry up the fountain of it, at the fame time, in calling
men to the itudy of fanctification : this was admirably performed by
Jefus Chrift; I. In correcting thofe abufes which the Jetuijh Doctors
had introduced into the law; 2. In declaring that the effect of fancli-
fication was to be looked for in the heart, rather than in the eyes or
hands.
One may fee afterwards, 1. That he knew the heart of man ; which
proved that he made it. This he teftifies upon feveral occafions, in the
anfwers which he made to thofe that fpoketo him, and indeed in all his
difcourfes, which were fuited to the difpofitions of the heart of thofe to
whom he addrefted them.
2. That he made ufe of parables, which are'moral lefTons, very eafy
indeed, but withal fitter for the fubject than fables, and more worthy of
God j parables, alfo, which were lo ordinary and familiar amonglt the
Jews, that we find moft of them at this clay in the writings of the Jewsy
though they apply them to no other ufe.
3. That he defcended to particulars, without ufing any thing mean,
which men are apt to do when they divide things minutely.
4. That he forgot no one precept of morality.
5. That he examined all the duties of religion, and made them infi-
nitely recommendable byfuggefling fuch excellent motives.
After all, we are to confider four things in the preaching of our
Saviour, which will fully prove that he was the Mefliah.
1. That his doctrine appeared to be wholly Divine : he had never
been brought up at the feet of any Doctor; but had his breeding in a
carpenter's fhop.
2. That no crime was ever objected to him, notwithftanding that he
upbraided the Pharifees with theirs ; but he fupported his doctrine by
the holinefs of his converfation.
3. That
(?) Hid. ixi 1. (r) Ifai. lxi. I.
462 Reflexions upon the Ch. IX*
3. That he infenfiblydifpofed the people to receive him as theMefliah,
by the characters which God had given of him in the Prophets.
4. He prepared his Difciples and his auditors to expect that one day
the Gentiles fhould enter into the church.
In fhort, can any thing be io furprifing, as to fee a man who had lived
thirty years as the fon of a carpenter, to declare himfelf all at once a
Doctor, to preach publicly, to cenfure the Doctors of his nation, to
fpeak of the law and prophets with more depth and authority than all
that ever went before him ? Who can, without furprife, conceive that
a man of the loweft quality fhould, from a carpenter's fhop, come and
determine queftions about the law, and tread under his feet the autho-
rity of all the great Rdbbins every where, only by an I fay unto you, fo
that none was able to contradict him ! Certainly, when one fees our
Saviour upon the mount explaining and defending the moral part of the
law from the corruptions into which it was fallen, he appears not only
as great as Mofes on mount Sinai, but even as God himfelf, when he
publifhed his laws to that his ancient people.
Neither ought any one to have lefs admiration for that perfect inno-
cence which (hone through the whole courfe of his life. What crime
had they to charge him with, when they put him to death, he who ac-
cufed his enemies of fo many ? IVho of you, faith he, accufes me of fin?
We find him only accufed of words ill underftood, which they were re-
folved tomifinterpret : his faying, That if they defiroyed that temple, he\
•would rebuild it in three days, was laid to his charge as a crime ; and yet
thefe words could not have been heightened into crimes, if they had been
fpoken in the fame fenfe which they put upon them. This was an eilen-
tial character of the Meffiah, who was to be the reftorer of holinefs,
according to the idea which the Prophets gave of him.
I fhould take notice afterwards that our Saviour, in his fermons, did by
little and little difpofe the minds of his auditors and Difciples to con-
ceive and believe him to be the promifed Meffiah. The firft act of his
public miniftry, was an effect of his zeal for the holinefs of a temple
confecrated to his Father : he drove the buyers and fellers out of the
temple, at the feaft of the pafTbver, which action of his was a folemn
profeffion that he was the Son of God. Soon after, at Nazareth, heap-
plies to himfelf that prophecy of Ifaiah, The fpirit of the Lord is upon me,
&c. He explains himfelf yet more diftinctly in Jerufalem, at the fecond
pafTbver, which he celebrated during the time of his miniftry, that they
might underftand that he was the Meffiah, according to the account
■which the Evangelifts give us ; and he explains himfelf yet more parti-
cularly upon John the Baptijfs meflage to him. By which means this
truth became already fo illuftrious, that the multitudes would proclaim
him King, that is, publicly own him for the Meffiah, and obey him as
their rightful Sovereign. And laftly, he explains himfelf in this mat-
ter by a queftion, when he afked his Difciples, What cenfures were paft
upon him in Judea, and what they themfelves thought of him (s) ?
In fhort, it is certain that Jefus prepared the minds of his Difciples
to look for the calling of the Gentiles, which alfo was the character of
the Meffiah. Jacob had proohefied of old, To bimjhall the gathering of
the
(s) Matt, xvi.
Ch. X. Books of the New Tejament. 463
the people be (t). But I fliall pafs by the oracles which forctel this mat-
ter. What fignifies the hiftory of the prodigal, unlefs it be the calling
and the return of the Gentiles ? theeldeft fon (the J civ) being extremely
troubled at it. What means that faying of our Saviour, that he had
ether Jheepy &c. or his prediction, that many Jhould come from the cafi and
ivefl, and fit down with Abraham, when the children of the kingdom Jhould
he cafi forth ? 1 fhall take notice, in another place, of the frequent repeti-
tion of fuch like oracles, and their exacl: accomplifhment. Thefe are
fufficientat prefent to juftify the folidity of this laft reflexion, and the
truth of this conclufion at the fame time, that if one examines the life
and preaching of our Saviour, he may find all thofe characters by which
the promifed Mefliah might be known. Let us now proceed to the con-
sideration of his miracles.
CHAP. X.
That the Miracles wrought by our Saviour clearly prove that he is the
Messiah.
AS the Mefliah was to be very clearly diftinguifhed from all others
by his miracles, and as the Prophet Ifaiah, chap.xxxv. fets down
the power of working miracles as one of thofe characters by which he
was to be known, fo it is of great importance to us, to examine the
miracles of our Saviour with great attention, whether they have the
character of truth, and whether they come up to the idea which the
Prophets give us of thofe wonders which the Mefliah was to do.
The Evangelifts, who tell us that he wrought almoft an infinite num-
ber of them, have defcribed more than thirty feveral forts of them. He
changed water into wine at the wedding at Cana ; he healed the fick fort
of a courtier ; he delivered one that was poffefled in the fynagogue at
Capernaum ; he healed St. Peri's mother-in-law ; he caufed a vaft num-
ber of fifh to be caught ; he cured a leper with a word, and with a touch
he healed one lick of the palfy ; he cured a woman of an inveterate
iffue of blood, and raifed the daughter of a ruler of the fynagogue from
the dead ; he cured the impotent man at the pool of Bethcfda ; he cured
him that had a withered hand ; he delivered a pofTefTed perfon that was
blind and dumb; he recovered the centurion's fervant, and raifed to life
the fon of the widow of Nairn.
Neither are thefe that follow any lefs confiderable: he reftores fight
to two blind men, hecafts forth a dumb devil, he afiuages a tempefr by
his word, he delivers two pofTefled perfons, and permits the devil to g&
into the herd of fvvine of the Gadarenes ; he feeds above five thoufand per-
sons with two loa.ves and five fifhes; he walks upon the fea, and calmeth
a fecond
(0 Gen. xlix. 10-
464 Reflexions upon the Ch. X(
a fecond tempeft ; h§ cafts forth a devil from a daughter of a woman of
Canaan, who was poflcfTed ; he cures one deaf and dumb; he feeds four
thou land perfons with feven loaves ; he reftores fight to a blind man of
Bcthfaida ; he cads out a devil, after his Difciples had in vain attempted
it ; he reftores fight to one bom blind ; he cured a crooked woman; he
cures one of the dropfy on the fabbath day; he raifes Lazarus from the
grave, after he had been dead four days ; he heals ten lepers afterwards;
he reftores fight to a blind man at his entering into Jericho ; and cures
the lame and blind in the temple itfelf.
There are feveral characters which allure us of the faithfulnefs of the
Evangel ifts in thefe their relations : 1. They wrote thefe things to con-
vert thejezvs before the deftruction of Jerufalem. 2. They marked the
circumftances very exactly ; and none could be ignorant of them, fince
they all went thrice a year up to Jerufalem. 3. The fatSts which they
relate were lafting, and fuch as might be examined. 4. They fpeak of
facts which they fuppofe that Jefus Chrift was willing fhould be beyond
all conteft, that they might be better examined. 5. They fpeak of thofe
facts which they maintain to be the aceomplifhment of the oracles con-
cerning the Mefliah whom the Jews expected.
But there are not fewer characters of truth in the miracles of our Sa-
viour, to buoy them up. The firft is, that moft of the difeafes which
Jefus Chrift cured, are defcribed as abfolutely incurable : thisobferva-
tion is of great moment, as well to difcover to us the infinite power
exerted by Jefus Chrift, as to make known the extraordinary wifdom of
the Apoftles, who being men without learning, did notwithstanding fet
down the fymptoms of the difeafes which their mafter cured, far be-
yond what might be expected from their natural capacities.
The fecond reflexion belongs to the fubjects upon whom thefe mi-
racles were wrought ; for we icarce find any of them, except his curing
St. Peter's mother-in-law, to be wrought upon perfons who had leaft re-
lation to Jefus Chrift : he heals the fervant of the high-prieft, the fon
of the ruler of a fynagogue, the fon of a Roman centurion, and feveral
others.
A third reflexion may be drawn from the places where they were
done, and from the witnefles that were prefent. In fhort, they were
Wrought in public places, in themidft of cities and fynagogues; fome
in Judra, fome in Galilee, fome at Jerufalem, at Nairn, Sidon, he. they
were fubmitted to the examination of the moft implacable enemies of
Jefus Chrift, the people of the Jews, the Samaiitans, and the Gentile:,
who dwelt in Paleftina*
One may add alfo, that thefe miracles were of very different kinds,
wrought in feveral places, and with very confiderable circumftances, at
the moft folemn feafts, the paffover and pcntccofl.
One ought to confider alfo, that Palefline was full of thofe whom our
Saviour had cured ; and that all the Jcivs who came up three times in a
year to Jerufalem could dot but take notice of them.
One ought afterwards to obferve, that Jefus Chrift communicated
to his Difciples the power of working miracles in the fecond year of Ins
miniftry, which none elfe had ever done.
And laftly, it muft be obferved, that thefe miracles were lafting ; the
three
Ch. X. Books of the New Tejiament. 465
three dead men, whom our Saviour raifed to life again, who were very
young, and who in all probability lived longerthan decrepit old men, were
in the light of all Judca; and other Tick and infirm perfons, that he had
healed, enjoyed life and health. 2. In fhort, the relation of Chrift's
miracles, which Pilate fent to Tiberius, fufficiently teftifies that they
were facets generally known ; and, 3. That the certainty of them could
fo little be conferred, that the Jews rather chofe to acufe him of doing
them by fome magical fecret, than to difpute the truth of them.
Thefe reflexions fufficiently confirm the truth of the Evangel ids re-
lation, and of the miracles of Jefus Chrift. To agree to what has been
faid, we need not refute the folly of thofe who have compared the mi-
racles falfely attributed to Apollonias Tyanaus, with thofe of Jefus Chrift.
One hardly knows at this day whether ever there was fuch a man as Apol-
lonius; whereas, everlince the Apoftles, there have been Chriftians who
have read the hiftorv of the miracles of Jefus Chrift, and who have be-
lieved them after a due examination. Which of Apollonius's difciples
was ever fo bold as to fay to Heathens, as Tertullian did in the fecond
century, in his Apologetic, Bring to us what pofj'effed perfons you pleafe,
and we will heal them in the name of Jefus Chrifi f
But we ought alfo to add one thing more, That thefe miracles of Jefus
Chrift were exactly fuch as ought to have been made, to prove him to
be the Meffiah.
1. They were exactly fuch as Ifaiah had foretold concerning the
Meffiah, chap. xxxv. as may be feen by comparing them with the
text.
One ought only to obferve, that this character is fo peculiar, that it
diftinguifhes the Meffiah from all the other Prophets who went be-
fore him ; for none of thofe to whom God had given power to work
miracles, had either given fight to the blind, or power to the lame to
walk.
2. They perfectly came up to the end of his miniftry, as he was the
Meffiah ; for it was his defign to affurc his Difciples of the immortality
which he promift?6 to them ; and thefe cures, and thefe refurrections,
which were wrought only by his word, were fufficient to convince
them, as well of the fovereign power he had to execute his promifcs, as
of his goodnefs, which was neceffary to confirm the faith of his fol-
lowers.
3. Some of his miracles were fuch as evinced his likenefs to Mofes :
he changes water into wine at Cana; he feeds many thoufands in thede-
fert ; he walks on the water, and makes one of his Difciples to walk
with him ; as Mofes changed the waters to blood, and had caufed manna
to rain down upon the Ijraelites, and had opened the fea for their paf-
fage.
4. One ought to obferve here, that if Jefus Chrift's miracles were
not like thofe of Mofes, two only excepted, viz. his curfing of the bar-
ren fig-tree, and the drowning of the fwine, this was to fhew that he
was not come, like Mofes, to execute the judgments of God, but to
exercife acts of grace and mercy; thofe now mentioned being fufficient
to evince it was not for v/ant of power.
If the Samaritan woman argued very rationally when fhe faid con-
Vol. I. G g cerning
466 Reflexions upon the Ch. XL
cerning Chrift, TVhen the Meffiah Jkall come, will he do greater figns than
thefe ? we may with more reafon urge it now, fince we know not only
that Jefus Chrift hath wrought fuch great miracles, but alio conferred
upon his Difciples a power of doing greater miracles than hirhfelf ever
did.
CHAP. XI.
That the Predictions of our Lord Jesus Christ dearly prove him to be
the Messiah.
ONE might have obferved, that John the Baptifl foretold many
things concerning the perfbn of our Lord, and the glory of his
miniftry ; that Simeon foretold that he was to be a fign which fljould be
fpoken again/} : and it is known how exactly thefe things were fulfilled.
But it will be more for our purpofe to examine thofe prophecies which
were pronounced by Chrift himfelf.
I pretend not to repeat them all here, nor to (hew by how many ways,
and upon how many occafions, Jefus Chrift did reiterate them : this
would take up too much time. I fhall only fet down the chief of them,
and add fome few reflexions.
When Jefus Chrift calls the fifhers to follow him, he foretels that he
would make them teachers of the world ; I will make you, faith hv,flfbers
of men. He promifes to make them famous by miracles, and to fend
them the gifts of his Holy Spirit, which the people of Ifrael had now for
above 400 years been deprived of.
He promifed to give them an authority over the confeiences of men ;
fo that what they fhould forbid us on earth, fhould be forbidden in
heaven.
He foretels the calling of the Gentiles to his religion ; Many, faith he,
fhall come from the eaft and weft, and flmll fit down with Abraham, Ifaac,
and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven ; which is the more confiderable,
becaufe he feemed himfelf unwilling to fhew any favour to the Gentiles,
whom he called Dogs, according to the language of the Jews.
He foretels the rejection of the Jews; The children of the kingdom,
faith he, fhall be caft out into outer darknefs.
He foretels the perfections which were to happen to his Difciples
from the Jews, as well as from the Roman governors ; They fl)all lay
their hands on you, and perfecute you, delivering you up to the fynagegues, and
into prifons, being brought before kings, &c.
He foretels, that notwithstanding all thefe perfecutions, yet his church
fiic.uld not only continue, alluring them that the gates of hell fhould never
prevail againft her ; but alfo fhould greatly flourifh and increafe, accord-
ing to what David had foretold, Pjalm ex. verfe 3. alluding to the fud-
den fruitfulnefs which is caufed by dew.
He
Ch. XT. Booh of the New Teftament. 467
He above thirty times foretels his fuffering and death.
He foretels his refurre&ion the third day. _
He foretels that Judas mould betray him, St. Peter deny him; that his
Apoftles fhould be fcattered, as foon as they mould fee him fmitten. He
foreteh the martyrdom of St. Peter, which he was to fuffer for his fake;
and to St. John, that he was to furvive the deftruttion of Jerufalem. He
foretels that after his afcenfion to heaven, he fhould begin the call of all
the nations of the earth ; When IJball be lifted upfront the earth, faith he,
I /ball draw all men unto me. ^
He often foretels the deftrucYion of Jerufalem and the temple ; Beheld,
faith he, your houfe is left unto you defolatc.
He foretels that manv falfe Meffiahs fhould come after him, whom the
Jews fhould receive, though they had rejected him as an impoftor.
Several reflexions may be made upon thefe predi&ions of our Lord.
In fhort, one may obferve at firft, that there are three forts of them in.
the New Teftament : fome of them were fulfilled foon after they were
pronounced ; as thofe concerning the afs which he fent his Difciples
for, thofe of his death and refurredion, ci St. Peter's deny.ng him, and
the' flight of his Apoftles, &c. ,.„,,,. c c . , . . ,
The defi<m of thefe was to eftablifh the belief of thofe which were
further off; which is the method of God himfelf, the Father of our Lord,
in the Old Teftament, as I have obferved.
Some of them related to matters which were mere remote ; as the wars,
forinftance, which Chrift foretold, the deftruftion of Jerufalem, and
thedifperfion of the Jews.
Laftly, there were fome whofe accomplishment was at a very great
diftancc, after many ages, fome of them reaching to the end of the
world. . , . ,
One fees plainly that this mixture of our Saviour s predictions, which
are of fo very different forts, is of ufe to confirm the belief, and ascer-
tain the truth of them, the exaft fulfilling the firft oracle making way
for the belief and expe&ation of the fecond, and fo on, till all be ful-
One may obferve afterwards, that Jefus Chrift and his Apoftles, on
whom he (according to his promife), after his afcenfion, poured forth the
fpirit of prophecy, did ordinarily follow the fame notions and expref-
fions which the Prophets of the Old Teftament made ufe of.
Thus we find Jefus Chrift makes ufe of Daniel's notions, where he
fpeaks of the deftrudion of Jerufalem ; thus we fee that he imitates the
moft illuftrious anions of the Prophets ; and, to make his predictions the
more obferved, in accomplifhing the prophecy of Zachanah on Palm-
Sunday, in the midft of the acclamations of the people he weeps over
Jerufalem, as if its deftrudlion were already come. Thus Jefus Chrilt
faith to St. Peter, When thou Jhalt be old, another Jhall guide thee, and carry
thee whither thou wouldft not (u) ', thus foretelling his death : thus he m-
ftruas him in the callina of the Gentiles, under a reprefentation of all lorts
of beafts, commanding him alfo, even as to the impure animals, Slay and
eat. All the Revelations are full of fuch prophetical ideas, taken from
the Old Teftament, from Gene/is, Ifaiah, Ezekiel, Zachariah, &c.
G g 2 But
(a) J oh. xxi. 1 8.
468 Reflexions upon the Ch. XL
But here sre other reflexions of as great importance as the former.
The firfl is, That the greateft part of thefe predictions are nothing;
but a continuance and more diftinci: explication of the oracles of the Old
'Teftament, concerning the fufferings of the Meffiah, the calling of the
Gentiles, the deftruction of the commonwealth of the jews; and befides,
they are continued to the laft day of the world, which is the end of
prophecy.
The fecond is, That thefe predictions had not the lead probability
upon which they might rationally have been grounded. What likeli-
hood was there, that Jefus Chriii fhould be crucified, he who raifed the
dead, who commanded the lea and winds, he whom they would have
taken by force to make him their king ? What likelihood was there,
that the Apoftles, a company of poor mifcrable Jews, fhould bring over
the Gentiles to the religion of a man who was accurfed by the fynagogue
of the Jews, and crucified like a flave by the authority of the Roman
rnagiftrate ? What probabilitv was there of the deftruction of Jeru-
faletn, whilft the Jews, accuu\.n.ed to the Roman yoke, made it their bu-
iinefs to avoid all manner of occafions that might ftir up the indignation
of their matters againft them ? It is expedient, fay they, rather that one
man perijh (meaning Jefus) than to hazard the welfare of the whole nation.
The third is, That thefe oracles were written by the Apoftles, not
only amongft dilcourfes of another nature, but alfo linked together in
fuch a chain, that their connexion will not permit us to believe that they
■were contrived after the matters which they relate to were paft ; and alfo
•that they are conftantly related by three Evangelifts, long time before
the things came to pafs, St. John being the only witnefs of the deftruc-
tion of ferufahin.
The fourth is, That thefe oracles gave the Apoftles as much grounds
to expect: calamities and violentdeaths, as to JefusChrift himfelfj fothat
there is no pretence of doubting that they were not faithfully recorded
by the Evangelifls ; and that therefore, feeing the accomplifhment has
exactly anfwered to the oracle, we ought to look upon them as Divine
oracles.
I confefs that thefe oracles, no more than the books of the New Tefta-
ment, were ever committed to the public cuftody of the Jews, as for-
merly the oracles of the Prophets of old were \ but this cannot really
diminifh their authority.
I will not Obferve at prefent, that becaufe the temple was to be burnt,
it was not proper to depofe them there ; and it was for this reafon God
thought fit to caufe the oracles of the OldTeftament to be tranflated long
before.
Nor yet, that it was very proper that thefe predictions, as well as
the books of the New Tejtament, fhould be put into the hands of the
Gentiles, who thenceforward were to be the people of God, and his
temple.
But this I obferve, that nothing can be imagined more folemn than
thefe prophecies of our Saviour and his Difciples, as well as never any
thing was more exactly fulfilled.
jefus Chrift was born at Bethlehem, according to the oracles, Now,
as no man is matter of the place of his birth,, lo it is plain that here is
Ch. XI. Booh of the New Tejlamcnt. 469
no room left for impofture: neither is a man any more themafter of his
death ; wherefore, to give a certain character to his prophecy, he fore-
tels his dying at Jerafalcm ; which accordingly was accomplished in all
its circumstances. Can any thing be more exact ?
But one may fay, that it was eafy for the Difciples to forge predic-
tions fuitableto the event, in like manner as Firgilhath done, in the fixth
of his jEneids, of Afarcellus. One may indeed contrive an impofture
which (hall be poSIiblc, and which may anfwer to fome few oracles j but
1 Shall hereafter ihew the folly of that thought, when I come to prove
the faithfulnefs of the Apoftles and Evangeliits.
But can we conceive fuch a fufpicion concerning the converfion of
the Gentiles, the ruin of Pagan lfm, the victory of Chriftianity after
ten perfections ? It is now above 1600 years that the Chriftian Reli-
gion fubSiils ; whereas, who could have afTu red the Difciples of Jefus
Chrift, that their doctrine would have had fo much as one or two fol-
lowers after their death ? The greateft empires, that of the Chaldeans,
of the Perjians, of the Grecians, and that of the Romans, have been over-
turned ; and none of them fingly have been of fo long continuance as the
kingdom of Jefus Chrift, which neverthelefs was attacked by all that
was great and powerful in the world. Who fees not that this is the em-
pire whereof Daniel fpeaks in the feventhof his Revelations, which wast
never to have end.
Jefus Chrift foretold, as it is fet down by his Difciples, according
to the prophecy of Daniel, that the temple of Jcrufalem Should be de-
stroyed, and never built again : who couJd tell the Apofties, if they had
forged this oracle themfclves, that the endeavours of Julian to confound
this prophecy, when he began to rebuild the temple, would be in vain,
as indeed they proved by an effect of the Divine vengeance againft the
Jews, who were engaged in the rebuilding of it, under the authority
of that emperor ? (x)
Indeed, if one reflects on the oracles of Jefus Chrift, one Shall find
them a thoufand times more known than thofe of the Jews.
1. The greateft part of them were penned at one and the fame time.
2. They were writ by feveral authors, who lived indifferent places.
3. They were read over the whole earth every Lord's day : they have
been explained and commented upon foon after, every one endeavouring
to take notice of their accomplishment.
4. They have been alledged in difputes againft Jews and Gentiles, and
have ferved for a foundation to the faith of the Chriftian church, whofe
teachers have made it their bufinefs to Shew their uniformity with the
oracles of the Old Tejiament, which are in the hands of the Jews, though
the Jews have always considered the Christians as their moil mortal
enemies.
But one may alfo find that thefe oracles being for the moft part much
more clear and exprefs, their accomplishment alfo hath been fo much
the more eafilv difcemiblc : from whence it evidently follows, that
Jefus Chrift ought to be be acknowledged as the Prophet that was like unto
Mofes, as is mentioned in the eighteenth of Deuteronomy \ that is indeed
the trufi MeJTtah.
Gg3 CHAP. XII.
(x) Ammian. Marcellin, lib. 23.
47° Reflexion* upon the Ch. XII,
CHAP. XII.
That Jesus Christ died precifely in the fame A-famter as it was foretold
that the Messiah Jhmld die.
IHAVEfhewed, in my third part, that God had given to his church
feveral oracles to explain diftinctly this great truth concerning the
Meffiah.
1. He had fet this up for a rule by Mofes, Curfedis he that hangeth on
a tree.
2. He had propofed by David the idea of the Meffiah, as having his
hands and feet pierced ; the Gentiles and Jews uniting themfelves againft
him.
3. He had foretold by Ifaiah, that the Mefliah was to be accounted a
malefactor, and put to death.
4. He had repeated the fame ideas by the Prophet Zechariah, who de-
fcribes the manner of his being pierced, which has a natural reference
to the notion of crucifixion.
I have alfo fct down the reafons for which God feparated the feveral
parts of thofe prophetical dt fcriptions of fo furprifmg an event : the dif-
ficulty there was on the one hand to make thefe ideas to be received,
\vhich feem full of contradictions, the Mefliah having been at firft fet
forth as the Fountain ofBleflingj and, on the other hand, their feeming
incompatibility with the glory which God had promifed to the Meiliah,
and by him to the Israelites.
And at laft, 1 have fhewed that thefe oracles ,do exactly and clearly
defcribe the things which were to happen to the Meffiah ; which was to
be fo, becaufe of the nature of thofe events, which were fo ftrange, and
at fuch a diftancc from the common ideas which men have, for the moft
part, of fuch things.
Our bufinefs therefore only is to confidcr at prefent, whether indeed
Jefus Chrift died in the fame manner as the Prophets had foretold that
the A'lefliah fhould.
This character is a very illuftrious one, to confirm that Jefus Chrift is
the Mefliah ; for it is well known that a prifoner is no longer matter
of the things that happen to him, neither of the kind of his death, nor of
the manner of his burial.
In fhort, nothing can be imagined more fooliih than to fuppofe that
the Difciples ofjefus Chrift mould apply to their mafter, that he might
pafs for the Mefliah, fuch oracles as had not ufually been applied to the
Mefliah by the Jews, amongft whom they lived, and whom they en-
deavoured to difpofe for the receiving of Jefus Chrift as the promifed
Mefliah.
Now we cannot conceive any thing more exact than the agreement
which we find between the prophecies and the event.
I. When Jefus Chrift, by his triumphant entry into Jcn/fa/etn. riding
on an afs, had put his Difciples in mind of one pafiage in Zachary, he
obliged them alio to call their eyes upon another, when he foietold his
death,
Ch. XII. Books of the New Tcflament. 471
death, and their flight, as the accomplishment of this oracle ; Iwillfmite
thefhepherd, and the flock foall be featured, Zach. xiii. 7. (j).
2. He was befet with a band of Roman ibldiers, and the fervants of
the principal men amongft the Jews, who apprehended him, under the
conduft of Judas ; which exadly anfwers, firft, to the description which
we find Pfalm xxii. Dogs, that is Heathens, whom the Jews treated as
fuch, andjlrong Bulls, chat is Jews, reprefented by clean Beafts, have
befet me round ; and fecondly, to that other prophecy, He that cats bread
with me hath lift up his heel againjl me.
3. He offers himfelf freely to death, according to that of Ifaiah, that
he gave his foul an offering for fin. This appears, not only by his going
into the garden, where he knew that he fhould be taken, but alio by
his telling the foldiers that he was the man they looked for. He op-
pofed St. Peter's attempts towards his refcue, and declares that he did
not fly from death, but was willing to fatisfy the intent of the prophe-
cies.
4. He is forfaken by his Difciples, as he himfelf had teftified of it as
foretold by the Prophets, Zach. xiii. 7.
c. He is ftruck on the face before Annas, as Jeremiah had foretold,
Lament, iii. 30. He givcth his cheek to him that fmiteth him. _
6. He appears before Caiapbas, furrounded by every thing that was
great amongft. the Jews, whether lawyers or churchmen, according to
Pfalm ii.
7. He is filent before his unjuft judges, and neglects to anfwer the
accufations which the falfe witneffes depofed againft him, according to
the prophecy of Ifaiah, AsaJheep before his/hearers is dumb,fo he openeth
not his mouth, Ifaiah liii. 7. and the defcription which David gives of
him, Pf. xxxi. and xxxix.
8. They opened their mouths againft him, in accufing him of blaf-
phemy, as David had figuratively exprefled it, Pfalm xxii, 13.
0. They fpit in his face, they buffeted and abufed him the whole
ni^ht, according to that oracle of Ifaiah, xlix. 6.
&io. When Judas faw that Jefus Chrilt was delivered to Pilate by the
Jews, who demanded his crucifixion, he returned the thirty pieces of
iilver' wherewith they purchafed the Betters field, afterwards called the
Field of Blood, and fet apart by the Jews for the burial of ftrangers, as
was foretold by Zcchariah, xi. 12. and by Jeremiah, xxxii. 25.
11. He is accufed before Pilate, and brought before Herod, without
juftifying himfelf of the crimes laid to his charge, as it is Pfalm xxxviii.
12. Pilate and Herod agree in confpiring the death of Jefus Chrift,
according; to the defcription of Pfalm ii.
j o. Pilate defiringto fave Jefus, the Jews demand Barabbas might be
releafed, and Jefus puhifhed, as David bad foretold, Pfalm xxii. 14.
14. jefus Chrift was feourged by Pilate's order, which was foretold,
Pfalm xxxviii. and lxix. IfiiablYu. ver. 5, and chap, lxiii.
15. He is brought forth by Pilate to the people with an Ecce Homo9
Behold the Man, which was foretold by Ifaiah : When we Jhall fee him,
there is xo leauty that we foould dcfire him ; he is defpifed and rejected of
men : we M ejeem himflnekcn, fmiitcn cf God, andaffiified.
G g 4 16. Ke
(j) Mauh, xxvi. 31.
472 Reflexions upon the Ch. XII.
16. He is afterwards delivered to the foldiers, who, before they cru-
cified him, infulted over him with a thoufand indignities, and fcourged
him again, according to the prophecies fo often before ailedged.
17. They crucify him with two robbers, which anfwers to that pro-
phecy, Ijalah liii. 12. He was numbered with tranfgreffors.
18. They give him gall and vinegar to drink, as was foretold Pfalm
Ixix.
19. They pierce his hands and feet in nailing him to the crofs, which
anfwers to Pfalm xxii. 17, 18.
20. They part his garments, which is reprefented in the fame Pfalm,
verfe 19. and caft lots on his vefturc, according to the fame Pfalm, in the
very fame place.
21. He fufFers a thoufand reproaches upon the crofs, according to
what we find Pfalmxxu. verfe 8>and Pfalm lxix. verfe 8, lO.
22. And in particular, the Jews and Scribes reproach him in the very
words of Pfalm xxii. verfe 8.
23. Jefus Chrift cries out, applying to himfelf the beginning of Pfalm
xxii. My God! My God! If by haft thouforfahen me ? as he had before
applied to himfelf the prophecy concerning the Meffiah in the third of
Daniel.
24. He commends his foul into the hands of God, in the very words
which we read Pfalm xvi.
Thefe are the principal circumftances of the death of Jefus Chrift,
■which one fees to be exactly agreeable to the prophecies going before
concerning them : let us now confider thofe which followed his death,
which we (hall not find to be lefs particular.
1. The bones of Jefus Chrift were not broken, as thofe of the two
thieves ; which one may fee foretold, Pfalm xxxiv. verfe 21.
1. They opened his fide with a fpear, according to the idea 9f Zccha-
riah, chap. x. verfe 12. They flail look upon him whom they have pierced.
3. His body is buried by Jofcph of Arimathea, in a new fepulchre ;
which anfwers to the prophecy of If ai ah, chap. liii.
Thefe remarks do, in my judgment, clearly prove, that in the death
of Chrift all the characters by which the Prophets have diftinguifhed.
the death of the Meffiah, are actually found.
But, that we may yet be more fenfible how juftly thefe oracles are
applied to Jefus Chrift, here are fome reflexions upon the application
which the Apoftlcs make of thefe particular facts which happened to
Chrift, to tlViofe oracles which I have now mentioned.
The firft is, That the relation of thefe facts is joined with an account
of the weaknefs whereinto they all fell : they relate their own flight,
and forfaking their mafter, with St. Peter's denying of him ; whiift they
fet down the courage of thofe women, and that entire love which they
fhewed to the perforj of Jefus.
The fecond is, That the account of the accomplifhment of thefe an-
cient oracics is interwoven with the accomplifhment of thofe which
were uttered by Jefus Chrift, which alone are i'ufficient to make good
his claim.
The third is, That our Saviour did never on any occafion more openly
ftand to his prctenfion of being the Meffiah, than when he applied to
himfelf
Ch. XIII. Books of the New Tefiament: 473
himfelf thofe oracles which by their public confent were referred to the
Mefliah, which the Jews at that time more obftinately contefted than
ever.
The fourth is, That there never was a more exact defcription of all
circumftances which might affiTre us of the truth of any relation, than
that which the Evangelifts have given us of the death of Jefus Chrift,
in which we find the places, the time, the perfons, their difcourfes, and
other things of that nature, fet down with extreme care.
The fifth is, That as this fact, with all its circumftances, is the moft
exactly defcribed of any thing that ever was, fo it was a matter con-
cerning which it was fcarce poflible to impofe upon any one. All was
done in the face of the whole nation, who were met together at their
moft folemn feftival : all was done in the prefence of the fovereign
Heathen magiftrate, of the council of the Jews, of Herod, and of thole
who followed him to Jerufalem.
The fixth is, That we find an account of fome miracles interwoven
with this relation of the Evangelifts concerning the death of Chrift; and
thofe miracles as public, and as little fubjedr. to fufpicion, as the death
itfelf of Jefus Chrift, if we take the pains to examine them.
They who come to take Jefus, fall down backward to the ground ;
Jefus Chrift reftores the ear of the high prieft's fervant, which was cut
off": there was darknefs ever all the land, from nine o'clock in the morn-
ing till noon ; the vail of the temple is rent. Thefe are miraculous
actions, and fuch as the Jews might eafily have refuted, wherefoever
they had been propofed, if the truth of them had not been beyond all
queftion.
From all thefe remarks it evidently follows, That it is impofllble to
difpute the application which the Apoftles make of thefe oracles, which
are fo particular, to the perfon of Jefus Chrift, as the true Mefliah : we
find every part of their relation exactly anfwering to the prophecies. How
then can any one doubt of their being fulfilled in him ? efpecially feeing
it is evident, by fo many other proofs, that he was indeed the Mefliah,
and that God has been pleafed fo many other ways to confirm the fame
truth.
CHAP. XIII.
That Jesus Christ was raifed again the third Day, according to //^Pro-
phets, and afterwards afcended into Heaven.
HAVING {hewed, in the foregoing Chapter, that Jefus Chrift
was crucified under Pontius Pilate, for maintaining that he was
the promifed Mefliah ; I am now to fhew, that, according to the
prophecies fet down in my third part, he rofe again the third day, and
afterwards afcended into heaven. As thefe two facts are the moft im-
portant
474 Rt flexions upon the Cti. XII f.
portant of all that are contained in the Gofpel j becaufe, if they be de-
nied, all the Divine worfhip given to Jefus Chrift, by the Apoftles, and
a great number of Jews and Gentiles, who received him for their matter
in matters of religion, is abfolutely unlawful; fo we ought folidiy to
prove, that they are indifputably true. Of which we fhall be fully con-
vinced, by making fome obfervations upon the relation which the
Evangelifh give us concerning them ; and we fhall eafily find therein
all the characters of truth.
There is no ncrefiity of obferving, that a refurrection from the dead
is a fact v/hich can hardly be believed ; and that, though the Jtws did not
all of them look upon it is an impoflible thing, yet there were Sadducees
amongft them, whofe do&rine was publicly taught. It is certain that
though the Difciples had fcen Jefus Chrift railing three perfons from
the dead, and amongft others Lazarus, a little before his death, yet we
find that they were not thereby more difpofed to believe that Chrift was
to rife from the dead.
Infhort, though the Evangelifts tell us, that Jefus Chrift himfelf had
foretold that he was to rife again the third day, which was a thing fo
commonly known, that the priefts, to elude the prophecy, defired of
Pilate, that a guard might be fet on Jefus's grave; yet they exprefsly tell
us, that the Difciples, none excepted, were in fuch a confternation at
the death of Jefus Chrift, that they had entirely loft the hopes of feeing
the accompliihment of that prophecy. Some pious women, who had
accompanied him to the crofs, and were defirous to fhew fome marks of
their veneration after his death, came indeed to his fepulchre, but with
fpices to embalm his dead body ; fo far were they from expecting to find
him rifen from the dead. Though thefe holy women were convinced of
the refurrection of Jefus Chrift, by the apparition of an angel, by the
difcourfe of our Saviour himfelf, and by the repetition of his order, that
they fhould go to Galilee, where they fhould fee him, yet the relation
which they give of thefe things is accounted fabulous ; fo that two only
of all the Apoftles had the curiofity to go to the grave, and inform them-
ielves. Here is a great unbelief amongft the Apoftles, which was to be
cured : this was a condition wholly ineonfiftent, if we fuppofe them im-
poftors, and that they intended to impcle upon the world.
A fecond thing we may obferve is, That as the incredulity of our Sa-
viour's own Difciples was extraordinary, fo we cannot imagine any more
efficacious means than were employed to overcome this their doubtful-
nefs. If one joins the relations of the Evangelifts together, one may
find feveral degrees of evidence in thofe proofs which confirm the truth
of the refurrection of our Saviour.
The firft is, the manner of their being informed of the refurrection of
Jefus Chrift. Angels at firft declare his refurrection to fome women;
Jefus Chrift afterwards appears to Alary Magdalen, all alone ; afterwards
he appears only to two of his Difciples, then to St. Peter; afterwards he
appears to feven of them at once; then, to all his Difciples, except Thomas;
and foon after, to the eleven, Thomas being one of them. After all this,
he appears to a greater number of his followers ; till at laft, having been
feveral times feen of them ail, he appears to them all afiembled to-
gether, and is taken up into heaven in their fight. It is evident,' that
as
Ch. XIII. Books of the Neiv Teftament. 745
as they were informed of this truth one after another, Co they were more
obliged to examine the faftmore attentively when Jcfus Chrift appeared
to them.
The fecond degree has relation to thofe marks and characters by
which they were afiured that it was Jefus Chrift himfelf. The Angels
repeat to the women the command which Jefus Chrift, before his death,
had given to his Difciples, to go into Galilee; Jefus Chrift, appearing to
Mary Magdalen, repeats the fame to her, and gives her a particular com-
mifiion for St. Peter, to comfort him in his affliction, for having denied
his mafter. Appearing to his Difciples, as they went to Emmaus, he
refers them to the prophecies which fpoke of his death and refurre&ionj
and moreover, when he broke bread with them, they hear the fame prayers
which he ordinarily ufed at the blefiing of it. He appears to them the
fame day the fifth time, and fhews them his feet and his hands ; he re-
peats the grant of the authority which the Father had given him ; he
breathes upon them, faying, Receive the Holy Ghojl ; a week after, he lets
'Thomas touch him ; he appears afterwards to feven of his Apoftles upon
the lake of Tiberias, where he confirms St. Peter in his charge, from
which his deny:ng of Chrift might feem to have excluded him, after
he had wrought a miracle in the draught of the fifties, which was
like fome miracles which he had wrought before his death. Afterwards,
he appears upon the fame mountain in Galilee, where, in all probability,
he had been transfigured before, and is there feen of five hundred of his
Difciples at once. And laft of all, he appears to them at Jerufalem, after
their return from Galilee; and from thence goes with them to Bethany,
where, after he had told them of the abfolute power which God had given
them, he commands them to go and baptize in his name, he foretels the
miracles which they fhould work, and the gifts which they fhould receive
at Jerufalem. All thefe fo very different circumftances were only de-
figned to affure their eye?, their hands, their minds, their consciences,
that was the fame Jefus whom they had always followed.
It is worth our taking notice of the diverfity of thefe circumftances,
for the certainty of this fa£f, which abfolutely prevent all pretences of
doubtfulnefs. Jefus Chrift appears ten feveral times after his death : he
appears five times on the very day of his refurredtion ; he appears at fe-
veral hours, to different perfons, in feveral places, but always to perfons
to whom he was familiarly known, to thofe who were not at all cre-
dulous. The fir ft news they had of his refurredion feemed only to raife
their fcruples, if the teftimony of their fenfes, which faw him and
touched him, had not removed all fufpicions. Jefus Chrift appears to
them in places where he had wrought many miracles, and where he had
often before convei fed with them.
But one may make another more important reflexion, upon the time
and the day wherein our Saviour rofe again. Of the ten feveral times
in which he appeared to his Difciples, he appeared five times on the day
of his refurrcciion ; he appeared to them eight days after ; and after that,
the eighth day, which he fignalized by his frequent appearing to his Dif-
ciples, was confecratcd to celebrate the memory of this event every week:
one finds certain tokens hereof in the writings of the Apoftles; and it is
known that ail Chrillians after them did inviolably obferve this law.
Now,
476 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIII.
Now, let any oneconfider, whether it would have been poffibleto intro-
duce this cuftom in the time of the Apoftles, if the refurreclion of Chrift
had not been a facl confefled on all hands. Can any one conceive, that
the Apoftles and their Difciples, who were witnelies of the death of
Jefus Chrift, and who celebrated the memory thereof by a facrament,
could have been fo ftupid as to efiablifha cuftom which would put peo-
ple upon examining the facl, and have convinced them in a little time,
fince none of thofe that followed them would have fubmitted to this
practice, if they had not been convinced by their eyes, and their other
ienfes, and by a thoufand other proofs, of the truth of fo capital a facl,
which was fo much difputed by the Jews, of which they were obliged
to make a folemn commemoration two and fifty times every year, as
long as they lived ?
Let us add to this remark, which we have elfewhere urged, with
reference to the creation, another reflexion upon a facl which the Evan-
gelifts tell us : they tell* us, that though the refurreclion of Chrift W2S
accompanied with very peculiar circumftances, fufficient to convince
both Jews and Gentiles of the truth of it, being ufhered in wiih an earth-
quake, with apparitionsof angels to the foldicrs that guarded the fepulchre
of Jefus, and were frightened thereby, yet the council of the Jews con-
trived, with the foldiers, a molt impudent lie to outface it; and accord-
ingly the foldiers, coming before Pilate, tej1 him that the Difciples had
Helen away the body of Jefus whilft they flept; and his Difciples tell us,
that, fince, this hath been the common opinion of the Jews.
I w^ill not fo much as take notice here of the palpable falfity of this
depofition ; for, if the foldiers were afleep, how could they depofe con-
cerning a facl which was done at that time ? if they were not afleep,
why did not they hinder the Difciples from taking the body of their
mafter away ? How could they affirm that thieves had taken him away,
when the linen clothes wherein his body was fhrouded being left in
the grave, and the napkin that was about his head being folded up in
a place by itfelf, fo abfolutejy evince that he was not taken away by
perfons that were in fear of a furprife ? What probability is there, in
fhort, to fufpeel that his Difciples, who forfook Jefus Chrift whilft he
was yet alive, who fled from him at that time, ihould undertake fuch a
hazardous attempt, to have his body only ?
Neither will 1 infift upon a reprefentation of the Apoftle's fincerity,
which made them give us in their hiftories a plain account of the report
which was fpread againft the belief of the refurreclion of Jefus, before
ever that the Difciples had attefted the fame.
But 1 obferve another very particular characler in their relation, which
is, that it was impoffible for them to eftablifh this facl of the refurrec-
lion, without accufing thereby the whole council of the Jews, of the
moft ftumeful and crying impofture that ever was : to write a thing of
this nature againft the heads of that religion, was to facrifice themfelves
to the hatred of the public, and to expoie themfelves to inevitable ruin.
In fhort, let us imagine whether, after a charge of this nature, it was
eafy for the Apoftles to publifh their books, and preach publicly that
Jefus Chrift was rifen from the dead ? And yet this was what they did
with a furprifing diligence, when they inferted this terrible accufation
into
Ch. XIII. Books of the New Teflament. 477
into their books and fermons ; which alone is fufficient to demonftrate
that they were infinitely convinced of the refurre£tion, and alfo in a con-
dition to convince ail gainfayers, as we fhall fhew hereafter.
One may add to this proof the converiion of St. Parti, and the care
which he afterwards took to confirm the truth of the refurre&ion of
Jefus Chrift. Pie was a declared enemy of Jefus Chrift, and of the
Chriftian religion ; and yet, foon after the deatn of Chrift, he preaches
him up for the Mefliah. How came this fudden change? He afferts
that he had feen in heaven this Jefus who was vilen froir; the dead, and
received from him the Apoftlefhip ; accordingly we find him preaching
by thefe orders, without any communication had with the firft Difciples
of Jefus Chrift. He relates thefe matters in a manner fo little affected
to advance his miniftry in the minds of the Galatians, who preferred
St. Peter and the other Apoftles before him, that there is no ground left
to doubt of them.
One ought to make a like reflexion upon the converfion of Cornelius
the centurion : he was a profelyte, that is, a Gentile by birth, but a Jetv
by profeffion; and by the employment he was in, he had occafion of be-
ing more particularly informed of the depofition of the foldiers, who
probably were not unknown to him, for he was in the garrifon at Ctzfa-
rea, which was not far from Jerufalem. Yet, however, this Cornelius^
after he had a vifion which commanded him to fend to Joppa, a place
made famous, becaufe Jonah the Prophet fet fail from thence, who was
a type of the Mefliah in his death and refurrecVion ; this Cornelius, I fay,
embraced the Chriftian religion, becomes the fir ft bifliop of Cafarea^
and died a martyr for the re furred ion of Jefus Chrift.
The great affection v/hich St. Luke had tor St. Paul, confirms the fame
truth. S;. Luke had never feen our Saviour; he was bom at Antiock%
where in all probability he exercifed his profeffion of phyfic ; yet he was
converted to Chriftianity, and followed St. Paul in all places, and writ
the hiftory of his miracles and preaching. Who doubts but that the rea-
fon hereof was, becaufe he had feen the dead whom Chrift had raifed to
life, and had feen St. Paul, whom Jefus Chrift had dignified with the
Apoftlefhip, raife others alfo from the dead ?
It is certain that thofe who were firft convinced by the relation of the
Apoftles, muft needs have had very evident proofs of the truth of it.
The Jews had Sadducees amongft them, who denied the poffibility of
the re fur red ion in general : the council of the Jews especially had made
it their bufinefs to decry the conducv, the do&rine, and the miracles of
Jefus Chrift, and in particular to make the belief of his refurreclion fuf-
pected ; and fo much the more, becaufe Jefus Chrift had foretold it, and
his Apoftles maintained that it was come to pafs accordingly. If, in op-
pofition to thefe ftrong prejudices, there had only been the depofition of
two or three perfons to confirm this fa£t, there would have been reafon
to doubt cf it; but we find that this thing, which of itfeif feems hard
to be believed, and was otherwife fo much contefted, is, 1. Proved by
ten feveral apparitions ; 2. It is atteftcd by above five hundred Difciples;
3. It was publicly preached by the Difciples of Chrift at Jerufalem it-
lelf, and throughout all Judea, where it was moft of all dilputed; 4. It
was received by the very enemies of Jefus Chrift, as St. Paul and Cor-
nelius 9
478 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIII-
minis, and by tboufands of thofe who, having demanded his death, were
converted by the preaching of the Apoftles ; 5. It was confirmed by the
martyrdom of the greateft part of them ; and 6. It was not only autho-
rifed by the prefence of the three pcrfons whom Chrift had raifed to life,
and who lived, one of them at Bethany, fifteen furlongs from Jcrufakm,
where Jefus afcended to heaven, another at Nairn, &c. but it was fur-
ther verified by feveral refurreclions wrought by the Apoftles, to whom
Chrift had vouchsafed that aftonilbing power.
It was alfo a very confiderable thing, that the commonwealth of the
Jews continued near forty years after the time that the Apoftles under-
took openly to preach up the refurreclion of Jefus Chrift as the capital
article of their religion ; and yet in all that time it was never oppofed by
any public writing either of the Jews or Gentiles. If the Jews, in their
unjuft intrigues again Jefus Chrift and his religion, endeavoured to abufe
the world, in this matter, with calumniating ftories, neither have the
Apoftles been wanting to accufe the principal men of their nation of
impofture; and they have defpifed their moft cruel of the punifhments,
to maintain the juftice of their charge ; and yet none of them would
undertake to juftify the calumnies of their council, though they faw
Chriftianity fpreading itfelf not only over all Judea, but in all parts of
the world. To fpeak of it as it is, this conduct of theirs was a manifeft
betraying of their caufe, or rather an open acknowledgment that what
they had publifhed againft the innocency of the Difciples, and the truth
of the refurreclion of Jefus, was without all ground.
1 forefee only one probable difficulty which can be oppofed to the
folidity of thefe reflexions. A Jew may demand, why Jefus Chrift after
his refurreclion did not converfe as openly amongft the Jews as before,
that fo he might have been known by thofe who had crucified him, which
would have put the truth of the refurreclion out of doubt ?
But, to fpeak truth, this objeclion is not reafonable : for,i. Jefus Chrift
had threatened the unbelieving Jews, they fhould fee him no more ; and
he ought to make good his threatening. 2. Who fees not that they would
have looked upon his appearing amongft them as a fantaftic appari-
tion, after they had feen him work fo many miracles, and had attributed
them to the devil ? 3. I fay, that fuch an apparition was not agreeable
to our Saviour's doclrine in the parable of the rich man : "Tloey have Mo-
fes and the Prophets; if they hear not them, neither will they be perfuaded,
though oner ofc from the dead (%), 4. Jefus Chrift having for the moft
part converfed in Galilee at Nazareth and Capernaum, it was to the Gali-
leans and his Difciples that he was chiefly to ihew himfelf, to be acknow-
ledged by them, as being the pei fons who were particularly to bear wit-
nefs of this truth. After fo ftrong a prefumption as the governors of that
people had of Chrift's refurreclion, founded upon the earthquake which
accompanied it, and upon the deposition of the foldicrs to whom the
Angels had appeared, had not they all the reafon in the world to believe
the teftimony of the Apoftles concerning this truth, which they heard
feveral times attefted by them in full council, and faw confirmed by mi-
raculous cures which they could not queftion in the leaft ?
Laftly, Is not this objection the moft ridiculous thing in the world ?
For,
(z) Luke xvi. 29, 31.
Ch. XIV. Booh tf the New Tefiament. 479
For, let us fuppofe thatthcfe considerations are not ftrong enough tojuf-
tify our Saviour's conduit when he gave thefe proofs of his rcfurrcction,
doth it follow, becaufe he did not make choice of means (in order to
perfuade the Jems) which they preferred before others ufed by him, with-
out any folid reafon, that therefore we muft reject the depofition of (o
many witneffes who unanimously atteft it ? Since Jefus Chrift had raifed
three perfons to life again, which then lived in Judea ; fince Jerufalem.
had continued forty years after the death of Chrift ; ftnce fixcy folemn
feafts were celebrated in that time, where all the Jews had an oceafion
to examine the truth of thefe facts, and the truth or falfity of the accu-
fation charged upon the Apoftles by the council of the Jews ; and that
multitudes of Jews and Gentiles were converted at the preaching of the
Apoftles, who reduced all to this queftion of the fact of the refurrectiori
of our Saviour ; is not this an invincible proof again!! all the accufations
and fufpicions of the Synagogue ?
Forafmuch as the witneffes who maintain the refurrection of Chrift,
are the very fame that atteft his.afcenfion into heaven, and that they
affert it with the fame proofs, and the fame zeal, the reflexions here fet
down may ferve for that alfo ; and the rather, becaufe I am next to con-
sider the lending of the gifts of the Holy Ghoft, which is an undeniable
proof, both of the refurrection of Chrift and his afcenfion; and that thefe
very gifts of the Holy Spirit enabled the Jews to write, preach, and
publifh throughout all the world, the truths of that Chriftianity which
we new profefs.
CHAP. XIV.
That Jesus Christ fent to bis Apoftles, and to the Primitive Chriftiansy
the miraculous Gifts of his Holy Spirit, as he had promifed in the An-
cient Prophecies.
I HAVE Shewn that the prophecies of the Old Tejlament fpeak very
plainly of this fending of the Spirit, as a preliminary to the calling
of the Gentiles, which was the great defign of God. The Prophet Joel
/"peaks of it as fuch, and makes this wonder to precede the destruction of
Jerufalem, as St. Peter obferves in the fecond of the Ads. Ifaiah fpeaks
very particularly of it as fuch, in the eleventh chapter of his prophecy,
where he Sufficiently intimates that the fpirit of prophecy Should from
thenceforward fo reft upon Jefus Chrift, that it would not be found any
longer among the Jews, whofe city and temple Should be deftroyed.
At prefent my bulinefs is to Shew that this thing has been exactly
fulfilled, according to the defign which God had laid down in the Pro-
phets. To be convinced of this, we need only make fome reflexions
upon the relation which St. Luke gives us of it in the Ads.
He
4S0 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIV.
He tells us therefore, that fifty days only after the death of Jefus
Chrift, the Apoftles having continued at Jjrufale/n, and being affembled
there, they received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghoft, that is, the
powerof fpeakingall forts of languages, to make them fit to preach the
Gofpel to all nations, and to explain the moft fubiiine myfteries of our
Saviour's religion.
Every thing is confiderable in this relation of St. Luke: I. That he
relates this fad as happening fifty days only after the Jewifh paffover,
"when Chrift was crucified ; the whole nation of the Jews having been
witneffes of his death. 2. That he relates it as happening in the fame
city where Jefus Chrift was condemned, that the fame multitude who
after fifty days were again affembled there at this feaft, might be witnefies
of this miraculous event. In fhort, it plainly appears that this new law
from mount Sion, was folemnly promulged in the prefence of all the
yews, who were affembled from all parts of the world ; as the old law
was, when all the people aflifted at the foot of mount Sinai. 3. That
thefe gifts were granted to all the Difciples of our Saviour : gifts which
till that time had been wholly unheard of, and whereof fome part only
had been granted for fome Prophets, and to fome Priefts, and of which
none had been made partakers nr.ee the time of Malacbi ; God having fo
ordered it, that the defires of the Jews might be the more inflamed for the
Median's coming, as alfo that upon his coming he might the more eafily
bedifcerned. 4. That this was a facl openly known amongft the Jews,
and differently interpreted by them; fome faying, They were full of
new wine. 5. That the Apoftles affcrted, by the mouth of St. Peter,
that this was an accomplishment of the ancient oracles, as well as of the
promifes of Jefus Chrift. 6. That they declared that the refurrection
of Jefus Chrift, his afcenfion into heaven, and this miraculous donative,
had been foretold by David and Joel. It is certainly therefore very na-
tural to make thefe following reflexions upon the relation of fo confi-
derable an event.
The firft will confirm the truth of this miraculous fa<Sr, if weconfider
that it is abfurd to fuppofe that St. Luke, a wife man, fhould be fo rafh
as to relate a matter of this nature, if he had not been fully convinced of
it, and if it had not been an eafy thing to have convinced his readers
thereof alfo j nothing more being required for their conviction, but the
prefence of one of thofe firft Chriftians, an<2 to make a trial of this fuper-
natural virtue beftowed on them, for which there were frequent occafions.
2.. We muft obferve that this relation of St. Lake is, as it were, the
foundation which he lays down, to make his book of the Ails to appear
juft and reafonable, and to juftify the Apoftles conduct in preaching the
Gofpel to the Gentiles, not only contrary to the opinion of the Jews,
who looked upon them as wholly excluded from the privileges of the
covenant ; but alfo contrary to the feeming maxim of Jefus Chrift, who
a<5ted only as the minifter of circumcifion ; and contrary to the preten-
fions of many Chriftians, who, after the million of the Holy Ghoit, took
it very ill that St. Peter had preached to the Gentiles.
3. St. Luke fuppofes that this facl: came to pafs in fuch a manner, that
it was followed by confequences as illuftrious as they were incredible.
Twelve poor fifliermen undertook to go and preach to all the world,
that
CH. XIV. Books of the New Teflament. 4^1
that their maftcr, who fifty days before was crucified at Jtriifilekil, at the
profccution of thewhole fynagogue,and by order of oneof the magiflrates
of the Roman empire, was not oniy living, not only afcended into hea-
ven, but that he alio had given them the power of fpeaking all forts of
languages, of curing all difeafes, and even of raifing the dead.
4. They go yet further ; they boldly maintain that Jefus Chrift had
given them a privilege of communicating the fame power to all thofe
who would believe that he was the promifed Meffiah ; and this, without
any other myftery but the bare laying-on of their hands, after they had
received them by baptifm into the profeffion of Chriftianity.
Nothing could have been more eafy than to convince them of the
contrary, unlefs they had confirmed the truth of their affertion by the
miraculous confequences of that firft miracle. The fail was publicly
acknowledged : Simon Magus is convinced thereof; and he who had made
himfelf famous by his forceries, becomes a Difciple. St. Luke, in a hif-
tory of the actions of thirty years, relates the continual miracles wrought
by the Apoftles, and particularly by St. Paul, whom he conftantly fol-
lowed.
It feems to me, that if one confiders the hiftory itfelf, and the perfon
who made it, it will appear to be a true and faithful relation ; how-
ever, there are other teftimonies which invincibly eftablifh the fame
truth.
1. The Gofpel was, in effect, eftablifhed in moftof the provinces and
great cities of the Roman empire. St. Paul writes to the Chriftians of
Tbejfalonica, Corinth, and Epbefus, to the Galatians, ColoJJiam, tic. which
is an evident argument that there were Chnftians every where, that i^,
Difciples of theTe twelve filhermen, who underftood nothing but their
native Syriac language. How then were all thefe nations converted,
without fuppofing the truth of the miracle at the Pentecoft?
2. The Apoftles fpeak to.them of thefe miraculous gifts as of a com-
mon thing; St. Paul employing fome part of his firft epiftle to the
■Corinthians, to regulate thofe diforders which arofe in the church, by
reafon of the abufe of thofe gifts. St. James fpeaks of the power that
the priefts had to cure the fick ; and St. Paul wifhes for an opportunity
of going to Rome, to communicate thofe gifts to the Romans*
3. They takeoccafion to raife the dignity of the Gofpel above that of
the law, in calling i the miniftry of the Spirit, in oppofition to the letter
of the law, notwithstanding the tables of the law had been given to
Mojes in fo very illuftrious a manner.
It is of great moment here to confider three thing?, which alone are
fufficient to confirm the truth of the Chriftian religion.
The firft is, That this mi/lion of the Spirit is alone fufficient to con-
vince mankind of the Divinity of Jefus Chrift. God gave to Adam a power
of fpeaking one language; and afterwards he divided the fame, to make a
confufion among the builders of Babel: and Jefus Chrift doth the fame
thing, to confirm the glory and belief of his Divinity. God vouchfafes
the power of miracles to fome, Jefus Chrift communicates it to a far
greater number; miracles not having been fo generally wrought, becs*ife
no people ever had that power in all the foregoing ages. The Father
wrought fo few miracles, that he might leave to the Son this means of
Vol. I. Hh making
482 Reflexions upon the *Ch. XV.
making himfelf known. The Son had the glory of pouring forth the
Holy Ghoft in a greater abundance than the Father, thereby to fupply
the mame of his humiliation. This is the true reafon whv the Scrip-
ture faith, That the Spirit was not yet given, becauje Jefus Chrift was not
yet glorified*
The fecond is, That from this miracle one ought to infer thefe two
conclufions : the firft is, That God was fully pacified by the facrifice
of Jefus Chrift, the Apoftles conftantly reprefenting the paffion of our
Saviour as a facrifice offered bv him ; the other is, That from that
time forward mankind was confecrated to God at his temple. Jefus
Chrift, in his prayer before his death, expreffes himfelf much in the fame
manner as Solomon did at his dedication of the firft temple, and fire from
heaven falls down on his facrifice : Jefus Chrift confecrates his Apoftles
to be the living ftones of his temple, and caufcs the heavenly flames to
fail down upon them, as had formerly been granted at Solomon s dedica-
tion of the firft temple.
The third is, That the Jews themfelves cannot conceive a more glo-
rious or magnificent accompliihment of the ancient oracles concerning
the effufionof the Holy Spirit at the time of the Mefliah, than what we
find related by St. Luke ; whereof the whole world may fee the vifible
effects, in the calling of the Gentiles to the Chriftian religion : from
whence one may rationally conclude, That Jefus Chrift muft be ac-
knowledged for the Meffiah whom God had promifed.
CHAP. XV.
That, according to the Prophecies, the /ipoft!:s cf Jesus Christ have called
the Gentiles to the Projcjjim of the Chrijtian Religion.
WE have already feen what was the defign of God, and that the
diflin&ion which he made of the Jews from other nations, was
only that the Median might by that means be the more certainly
known, in whom all mankind had a right, as being promifed to
/idam.
God renewed the idea of this truth in a very lively manner, when he
allured dbrabam>btfoTe he gave him the law of circumcifion, That in
his feed all nations Jhould be blejjed. Jactlk, enlightened by the fpirit of pro-
phecy on his death-bed, plainly takes this truth for granted, when he
lays that the Meffiah', whom he calls Shilob, was to be the expectation of
the Gentiles^ Gen. xlix. Why doth lie not fay, that he was to be the
expe&ation of the Jews, but becaufe he iuppoieth that they were to be
rejected, and the Gentiles called in their ftead ?
'One fees in the Pfaims, and in the Prophets until Malacbi inclusively,
a thoufand declarations of this future calling of the Gemiles to the
faith
Ch. XV. Bocks of the New Tejlament. 483
faith of the Meffiah ; and though the mod part of the ideas which the
Prophets make life of, feem to be very figurative, defcribing the Meffiah.
as a conqueror, who was to fubdue the whole world to his dominion by
the force of arms; yet we find a great many others interwoven with
them, which only relate to the profeffion of the religion of the Meffiah,
and which, not being capable of any other fenfe, fufficiently determine
the others, fo as not to perplex the reader with thofe feeming obfeuri-
ties. But Jefus Chrift very ci i f t i n <5t 1 y declares this in divers places, and
above all in the xxivth of St. Matthew ; This Go/pel, faith he,Jhallbe
preached throughout the world.
Now, nothing could ever be more exactly fulfilled than thefe ancient
oracles have been. Let the Jews cavil as long as they pleafe about our
application of many of the prophecies of the OldTeftarnent to our Saviour;
let them put a fenfe upon the Scriptures, which treat of this Subject, con-
trary to what the yews, who were contemporary with Jefus Chrift, ever
did, and to the moft of thofe with whom the firft Christians, as Jajtin,
Tertudian, and others, from time to time difputed ; yet at leaSt they can-
not deny, but that the thing has been exactly fulfilled.
It is clearer than the day, that nothing co-Id be more exact. All
Christians, from one end of the world ro another, wprfhipped the God
of Ifrael, according to the prophecy of Malachi : Jefus Chrift Subjected
them to the moral part of the lav/ of Moje:. The Mahomet ns themfelves
have learnt of the Christians to acknowledge no other God but the God
of ffrael. The multitude of falfe Gods which the world worfhippedi
are vahifhed from all places where Christianity has been planted ; and
very few are left in comparison of thofe which are already deftroyed; fo
that we mult conlider the thing as already v^'i'>^ very far. In truth,
while things continue thus, one may reafbnably mafntain againft the
J^ews, that our Jefus and his Difciples have taken away all the glory
which could be referved for th: t Meffiah whom they expect, They
muft, if they be jealous for the glory of him whom they look for, en-
deavour to make the world for fake the worfhip of the God of Jjroel, to
make way for the accomplishment of thofe oracles which can have no
place in that State wherein the world is at prefent.
But though this reflexion upon the ex act accomplishment of the oracles
concerning the call of the Gentiles to the religion of the Meffiah may
Suffice, yet I think myfelf bound to make fome further observations
upon this Subject. In Short, every thing deferves to be confidered in
this calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of the Gofpel.
1 do not take notice at prefent that the perfon firft employed in calling
of the Gentiles, is St. Peter, to whom Jefus Chrift had promifed the ho-
nour of founding his church atnongSt the nations, and who himfelf at
firSt thought that the thing was unlawful, and who, after a yifion given
him for that very purpofe, obferves they.wijh cuftoms, and obliges the
Gentiles to do rhe fame; neither do I obferve that the firft who was
called was Cornelius, a Roman officer, who refided at Cafarea, where he
became a profdyte. Behold here a man engaged to examine that which
he had a better opportunity to do than any one elfe, by reafon of the
nature of his charge, whether what the Soldiers had depofed coacern-
H h % in*
4S4 Reflexions upon the Ch. XW
Jng the Difciples ftealing away the body of our Saviour, were true or
no.
I am obliged to confine myfelf to fome general reflexions upon this
matter. 1 confider firft the difficulty which was upon all accounts in
this defign of calling of the Gentiles, and the prodigious fuccefs which
this call of the Gentile* met with, according to the Prophets.
To make us underftand this difficulty better, we need only confider,
I. What were the prejudices of the jews, even thofe who were become
Chriftians ; 2. What was the ftate of the world at the time of Jefus
Chrifr. The Heathens enjoyed each their feveral religions for a longer
time than any hiftory could trace it : they attributed the happinefs of
their ftates and families to their gods. 3. We mufl obferve the nature
of that preaching by which the Gentiles were converted : its fubjeiti was
the ftrangeft thing in the world. If the crofs of Jefus Chrift had proved
the fcandal of the yews, who looked upon the Meffiah as the fountain
of bleffing, and the crofs as an accurfed punifhment; it was looked
upon no otherwife than as an heap of follies by the Greeks (who boafted
themfelves to be the wifeft men of the world), as well as by the other
Gentiles .
Yet, after all this, one fees a prodigious fuccefs, and a furprifmg ex-
tent of this call. Within a little time the world was filled with Chrif-
tians : St. Paul writes to thofe that were in Jfea, Greece, and Italy ; St.
Peter, to thofe of Pontus ; St. John, to thofe who were among the Par-
tisans, There were not wanting fome in the very emperor's court,
even that of Nero* who put St. Peter and St. Paul to death in the fixty-
ieventh year of our Lord.
One cannot attend to a fuccefs of this nature, without being extremely
furprifed : let us conceive of a dozen, or thereabouts, of poor beggars,
a dozen of unlearned men coming out of Judea, who fliould accuie the
whole world of folly and impiety ; every one oppofing them, especially
the Jews, who were incenfed to fee them go about to eftablifh the be-
lief of the crofs in the world, as a doctrine which would explain the
accomplifhment of the promifes of God concerning the Meffiah, of thofe
promifes wherewith the Jews had filled all the Eaft, and which had
rendered them at this time doubly ridiculous.
When, inftead of perfecuting the ^.poftles, they hearken unto them ;
or even when in the midff of chains and prifons they are examined, they
declare that true godlinefs confifts in knowing Jefus Chrift, even the
fame Jefus who was crucified in Judea, for whole name's fake they had-
been publicly fcourged by order of the council of the Jews. Thus we
Jind St. Paul boafting of hjs fevere ufage.
if perfons queftion them more particularly about the actions of this
Jefus, they anfwer coluiy, That the Son of God came down from hea-
ven ; that he took upon him our flefh in the womb of a virgin ; that
when he was become man, and yet an infant, Herod fought to ki'l him,,
to avoid which he was carried into Egypt \ that after having lived thirty
years ohfcurely in a carpenter's (hop, he was taken by the Jews, fcourged,
mocked, crowned with thorns, nailed to the crofs, where they gave him
vinegar to drink 5 that there lie cried out, My Godt my God3 Why haft
thou
Ch. XV, Books of the New TeflamenU 485
thou for faken me P that he died, was buried, and rofe again the third day,
as he had promifed before his death.
But what is it that this JESUS teaches to thofe that would follow him?
His Apoftles, in his name, require all men to renounce the pleafures of
this life ; to abhor polygamy and fornication ; and, inftead of revenging
an affront, to turn the other cheek to him that fmites us ; and to leave
our cloak alio with him who takes our coat from us; to go two miles with,
him who conftrains us to guide him one ; to love our enemies; and to
wifh well, and pray for thofe that defpitefully ufe us, and perfecuteus.
But what rewards will he give to his fervants ? The Apoftles anfwcr,
That he promifes nothing that is confiderable in this life, but an ever-
lafting happinefs in the world to come.
It is vifible that nothing feems to be worfe contrived to gain credit
than this ftory. The weaknefs of Jefus Chrift is vifible ; he was cruci-
fied. What ground is here to believe that he was able to perform his
promifes ? The fervice he prefcribes is very rough ; the reward he pro-
pofes is at a great diftance ; and, moreover, it is fuch as appears very-
doubtful to thofe wh© are not furnifhed with ftrong impreflions of the
immortality of the foul, and of a life to come.
But, on the other hand, the Apoftles folidly demonftrate that he is
GOD, and not a mere men ; that he can raife the dead, and that he can
perform his promifes. Though they do not fay, Bring hither the blind,
the lame, and the deaf, and we will heal them in his name ; prefent
your dead to us, and we will raife them in the name of that Jefus who
is horn of Mary, of that Jefus who died, and cried out on the crofs,
My God, my God, IVhy hajl thou for faken my? (for I acknowledge that
this miraculous power which they had received, was only exerted
upon certain occasions, which the Spirit of God made choice of) ; yet
they did that which was equivalent : for when blind men were brought
to them, they faid, Ye blind, in the name of Jefus, recover your fight;
and in like manner to the lepers, to poflefied perfons, to the fick of the
palfy, to the dead. Upon this, all were converted, and the crofs of
Jefus Chrift triumphs.
There are three forts of people in the world, wife men, men of a
middle fort, and fuch as are of a lower capacity; and feveral of thefe
three orders of men made profeflion of the Chriftian religion, as well
amongft the Jews as Heathens,
Hh3 CHAP. XVI.
486 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVI.
CHAP. XVI.
That the Chriflian Religion is founded on Proofs of Fjfi, and that confe-
quenily nothing in the World is fo certain as the Truth of it.
THIS reflexion ought to be made more than once, becaufe there
is nothing fo proper to eftablifh the truth of the CJhriftian reli-
gion beyond ail coXteft, or that will confound Atheifts, profane pcricns,
and yews, who endeavour to oppofe it, moreeff Jlua'ly.
I lay then, chat the chief articles mi which the whole Chriftian reli-
gion is grounded, are confirmed proofs of fa 61', that is, by witneffes
whofe evidence cannot be uu-.ilL.ned, v ithout (baking all the certainty
which we can have of any thing in this world, and without rejecting all
the means wh-rcby we can allure ourfelves of the knowledge which
\ve enjoy.
M iriy particular -vents which were perf.cr.lv divine, happened at the
birth of John theBapti/i,t\\z forerunner of the Meffiah ; they were known
throughout all the nil country ofjudea ; they happened to a pried, that
is, a public pcrfon, and ir. was when he was employed in his public
function in the temple ; tfiey are feconded b\ miracles which were known
to the whole nation of the Jews; they are followed by the public mi-
niftry of John the Bapiij;, a man who cenfures all Judca, who openly
declares hirhfelf the forerunner of the Meffiah, and who haih ,« great
number of Difciples, who are difiinguifhed from thofe of our §aviour,
who were fpread throughout all Judea, ar.d who continued r.fter trie
death of our Saviour; thefe were Difciples of a man who, bcfides all
this, doth not keep up any correfpond-r.ee with our Saviour, and who
at lafl falls by the hand of Herod for cenfuring his inceft and lufts.
JESUS CHRIST is born in Bethlehem, under ; a fact of
which the Roman commiffioners were witneffes, and which the records
of that empire preferved as long as they were in racing.
That the Angels teflificd their joy at his birth, is a fact which was
confirmed by the fliepherds of Betbhbem, long before Jefus Chrift had
any Difciples,
That a new ftar conducted the wife men of the Eafl to Beth
was an illuftricus facl, and of which Herod, and the ptiefts, and great
men amongft the Jews, were exactly informed ; and the Apoftles would
have found it a very difficult matter to impofe this upon them, if the
thing had not been diftinclly known.
That the birth of Jefus Chrii'c, and the arrival of the wife men, af-
frighted Herod, was a public thing, confirmed by the murder of the
infants of Bethlehem, and reported to JugUJius, together with the death
of Antipater ; whereof Macrobius, a Heathen, who was qualified for the
knowledge of fuch a ftory, hath preferved the memory. Neither can
this fact be called in question, becaufe Jojtpbus makes no mention of it,
fince fo famous a Heathen attefts it. Auguftus, faith he, having heard
that arnongll the infants which Herod ihe king of the Jews had caujed to be
killed
Ch. XVI. Books of the New Tejlament. 4*7
killed in Syria, under two years of age, he had killed his own fin, /aid,
That it was better to be Kerod'x hog than his fan.
That Jefus Chrift was in Egypt, and that he returned from thence,
is a fad with which the Jews to this day reproach our Saviour, as if he
had learned there the feciet of working; miracles.
Thar he confounded the Dodtors at twelve years of age, is a fact of
■which the whole nation of the Jews were informed, becaufe it happened
at one of thofe three folemn feafts which brought up the whole nation
to Jer •falem.
Thai Jefus Chrift was baptized by St. John, and that he received a
moft glorious teftimony from him, is a 'fact of which all thole Jews
whom the miniftry of St. John had drawn to the river Jordan were wit-
nefTcs.
That Jefus Chrift chofe for his Apoftles men without learning, and
of the meaneft of the people, that he lived with them three years and an
half, preaching his doctrine, correcting th; traditions of the Jews,
working miracles, and foretelling tilings to come, are facts of which the
whole people of the "Jews were witnefles ; and all the Romans that were
in fttdea were fully informed of than ; yea, they were known to all the
world. The Jews £ou)6 not be ignorant of them, who came up to Je-
rufalem from all parts of the world, to celebrate ten folc. cord-
ing to the law, during the time in which trie .ere acting, and
from thence carried the report of them into feveral parts of the world
where they were difpsrfed.
It is evident alio that Jefus Chrift laboured to perfuade men that he
was the pronsifed Mefliah : this was H :i the
world to the Jews, and which had relation to the molt important point
of their religion, and touched them the nearefl ; a w li h ... peried
at a time when all were in expectation of the Mefliah, as . pp< an by
the con fu Station of Herod, when the Jews, who were opprefled b
Remans, did moft earneftly figh for his appearance; a fact confirmed by
public oracles, and known to the whole nation, yea to the Heathens
themfelves, for near three hundred years.
That Jelus Chrift, notwithstanding all his miracles, was crucified at
the purluit of the Jews, and by the order of Pontius Pilate, is a fa
wr.ich the whole people of the Jews were witnefles, becaufe it happened
at the feaft of the paflbver, that is, at a fol /hole
nation of the Jews was afTembled : it is a fact which no Heathens ever
went about to deny ; they reproached the Chriftians with It, who .ire (0
little afhamed of it, that, according to. the orders of :h fame Jefus, they
celebrate the memorial of it in the facrameat
That there was thick darknefs ovei dl the land at iuc crucifixion of
Jefus Chrift from the third hour till the fixth, that is, from nine of the
cloc< tiii twelve, according to our way of computing the lime, was a
fact of that nature, that the whole nation of the Jews might eafily
convinced the Apoftles of this impofturd, if it haa not been as Con
a truth as the darknefs in Egypt, befote the departure oi tes.
That Jefus Chrift was raifed the third da , is a fact attefted by a
great number of witncfie'j the memorial whereof they celebrated every
H h 4
488 Reflexions upon the Ch. XV7.
eighth day, as long as they lived, by a conftant law, becaufe they confi-
dered this refurrection as the feal of thofe truths which Jefus Chrift had
taught them : it is a fact, the truth whereof they have maintained before
magiftratqs, before the people, in all parts of the world ; it is a fact which
they have publicly preached up, notwithftanding all prohibitions which
have been made; in fhort, it is a fact which they have afi'erted in the
midft of the moft cruel torments, and even until death.
That Jefus Chrift fent down upon his^Ypoftlcs the miraculous gifts of
the Holy Spirit, is a fact of which all Jerufalem was a witnefs fifty days
after the feaft of the paflover, when Jefus Chrift was crucified ; it is as
remarkable a fad as ever happened : twelve fimermen of Galilee main-
tain, in the face of the whole Jeidjb nation, that the fame Jefus whom
the whole nation had demanded to be crucified but fifty days before, and
ivho did actually fufFer upon an infamous crofs, is rifen from the dead,
and aicended into heaven, after he had eaten and drunk with them, and
had appeared feveral times to them after his refurrection ; and that he
had given them the power of fpeaking all forts of languages, and of
healing all manner of difenfes.
That they fpoke divers languages, is a fact mod notorious, the truth
whereof appears from the conversion of the world, which wasf ound to
be filled with their Di'.ciples, but a few years after this fact was done.
That they had the power cf healing all difeafes as well as their maffer,
is. a fact the truth whereof is eftablifhed upon indifputable teftimonies,
infomuch as their fucceflors received the fame gift by the laying-on of
hands. Two hundred years after, Tertullian mentions this gift, as
being at that time well known amongft Chriftians.
That the x\pofties, after they were rejected by the Jews, preached the
Gofpel to the Gentiles, who alfo received it, is a fact of which there are
fq many proofs in the world, that it cannot be called in queftion.
That the converted Jews ftrongly oppofed themfelves againft the
preaching of the Gofpel to the Gentiles, pretending, as the Jews now do,
that the Meffiah with his gifts and graces was confined to their nation,
is a fact io well attefted, that it cannot be called in queftion, if we con-
fider the firft difpute, which gave occafion to the firft council of the
Apoftles, and to the contefts of St. A»«/with thofe of his own nation.
That fince that time the Apoftles and their Difciples have maintained
by their writings and difputes, and finally by their martyrdom, that Jefus
was the Mefliah ; that they have conftantly ftood to this claim, alledging
tli j facts which the Gofpel propofes, and maintaining that the matters
there related were exact accomplishments of the promilhs of God, and
of the ancient prophecies : that all this is unquestionable, one needs only
read their fermons and fpc :ches fetdown by St. Luke, and their epiftlcs ;
one needs only perufe the Heathen hiftory, and the works of thofe that
Succeeded the Apoftles, who followed their footfteps in cftablifhing the
truth of the Chnftian religion.
That the Apoftles difcharged their followers from the ceremonies
which Mojcs prescribed, obliging them only to the eflentials of morality j
:!iey annulled the law which permitted divorces without fuflichnt
Caufe, and polygamy 5 thefe are things which none, who have read
their
Ch. XVI. Booh of the New TeJIament. 4%
their writings, or thofe of their firft Difciples, can in the leaft quef-
tion.
Laftly, That they foretold many things, as well as their matter; that
they publifhed their predictions, which they have extended to the end of
the world, and the return of Jefus from heaven to judge the world ; and
that they have recorded the particulars of many confiderable events, ob-
ferved by the Chriftians, which have happened from time to time j thefc
are facets as well known, and as inconteftable as any thing can be in the
world, of fuch a nature : whole nations are witnefTes of it. Differing
feels, interpreters who have feveral opinions concerning thefe pro-
phecies, the contefts of the Jews, the opposition of Atheifts, the cavils
of Heretics, the cruelty of tyrants, all thefe concur to prove clearly
that the Chriftians received thefe prophecies from the Apoftles, as well
as the truth of them, fince even thefe oppofitions were foretold, as well
as the perfecutions.
Thus I have given you a view of the greateft part of the mod impor-
tant articles which are contained in theChriftian religion ; and 1 think:
that they are fo folidly grounded upon proofs of fa 61, that I can affert
with reafon, that no fa6ts in the world can be produced, fo well efta-
blifhed as thefe are, which ate the fundamentals of our religion.
What fa6is are there which are attefted by whole nations, as the
miracles of Jefus Chrift were ? What facets are there about which men
were fo careful to inform themfelve?, as when a man pretends to the title
of the Me/Hah ? What thing can we fuppofe that requires a ftronger
conviction, becaufe of the difficulties it involves, than mat oftherefur-
rection of Jefus Chrift ? for thofe who were eye-witnefles of his cruci-
fixion, that is, who had feen him puniihed by the magiftrate, the hor-
ror of all his own people, and in all appearance forfaken of heaven.
To fpeak the truth, as there cannot be a greater inftince of fanatical
follv, than to attribute to twelve poor filhermen, whole mafter was cru-
cified at Jerufalem, by public order, and by an effect of the hatred of
the whole nation — I fay, to attribute to them the deflgn of perfuading
that people, and the Genti'es alfo, that this man was rarfed again from the
dead, that he rules in heaven, that he has bsftdwed upon them the mi-
raculous gifts of fpeaking all forts of languages, and healing all manner
of dileafes — if this Jefus had been never railed from the dead, nor had
beftowed fuch gifts upon them, the mind o£ man not being capable of fo
great folly ; fo we have all the reafon in the world to conclude, that
fince they have attefted this fact, and confirmed it by all the proofs which
might convince thofe who, though they were not prejudiced, yet were
aitonifhed at the difficulty of the things themfelves, fo nothing can
be more certain than facts fo confirmed, as we pretend that thefe
actually were.
CHAP. XV-IL
490 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVII.
CHAP. XVII.
That it ccnmt he quejlioned, -whether the Books of the New Testament
were written by the Apojiles.
EPTORE we alledge thofe arguments which will invincibly con-
firm the truth of the books or" the New Tejlav.ent, I deiire the
re ider to make thefe three or four reflexions, which ieem to be very
important 10 our prefent defign.
i iio firft is, That v, c&n fcarcely conceive a more fimpie and ftrong
way of proving a fad, than what we find in .he books here mentioned.
Th.: defign of the foui - I ice, is to prove that Jefus,
the fon of Mary , i the \)ro;.. h ; and that, in his birth, his iife,
his doctrine b, and refutrection, wr meet with all the charac-
ters which the Prophets attributed to the Mefiiah. How do the Kvan-
i ute this their defign ? In the moft proper way imaginable to
convince other?, and moil proportionable to their defign : they {imply
relate the fa&S ; and facts (o clear, that if we do not qucftion the truth
of them, we cannot doubt that jefus is the Mefliah; They relate the
rnoft important of thefe face:,, as things that happened in the face of the
whole nation of the yews, as I have ihewed in the precedent chapter ;
they relate them as tacts for the moft part owned by the yews, from
which the malice of the Jews extorted other confequences : they give us
an account of the, judgment which the Jeivs made concerning the mi-
racles that he wrought on the fabbath day, upon the Difcipies gathering
the ears of coi n ; of the anfwer which the Jews made to Pilate, We have
no other king but Caefar.
The fecund is, That the Apofllcs, fuppofing a general expectation
of the IvieiTiuh, when Jefus Chnft appeared, (hew that there was a very
great knowledge of the prophecies that refpecied the Mefliah, and a great
impofiibiiity or aj fe oracles to particular facts, if the truih of
thofe iacls had not been beyond contex.. Now we find very few oracles
of which they did not make an application to the life and actions of our
Saviour. We will fuppofe the Apoltles to have been men of great abi-
lities, and who had long ft u died the books of the Prophets, that they
might tear out fuch final! paflages as thty fancied might be applicable to
Jefus Chriit : however, it cannot be denied, that it does not appear by
their writings that they had fuch an exact knowledge of the prophecies;
whence it might follow that they judged them to be applicable to Chriit,
by comparing them with the fads vvnich they relate. 2. That ttuy had
this knowledge in common with the reft of the Jtws, who at this day
apply the fame texts to the Mefliah, if they are not conftrained by their
clearnefs to wreit them fome other way.
The third reflexion is, That, in the relation of thefe facts, they give
us all the marks of an extraordinary fincerity ; they reprefent indeed
whatsoever was for their matter's glory, but they do as well relate thofe
things which feem to be fhamcful to his memory. They tell us of the
Angels that aliiiicd at his birth, and at his death j but tell us withal,
that
Ch. XVII. Booh of the New Tejlament. 491
that he was tempted of the Devil, and in all appearance forfaken by-
God at his death. They tell us, that the multitudes were refolved to
take him by force, and make him their king, as acknowledging him for
the M fli.ih ; and they tell us, that the fame multitude, fome time after,
demanded him to be crucified.
The fourth is, That tiiey reprefent very naturally all the judgments
of thefynagogue againit Jefus : they reprefent him as excommunicated
and crucified by them ; they defenbe the reports that were current among
the yews ; that the dilciple? had taken away his body out of the fepul-
chre ; that the foldiers had depofed the fame, in the forms of law, before
Pilate. From all which it appears that they were faithful hiftorians, and
not at all prepoflefled ; and that they ufed no invectives againit the au-
thors of thefe faile reports, contenting themfelves to eftabliih the truth
of the matter, by fpecifying the places, the time, the witnefies, :\nd
other circumftances, which are proper to elLibiifh the truth of the facts
they relate.
Thefe four refiexions being once fuppofed, I fay, it is impoffible to
difpute the truth of thefe booi;s, or to call their authority in queflion :
to be convinced of which, one needs only confider thefe two things ;
the firfi is, that the Apoftles are the authors of the books which pais
under their names; the other is, that their faithfulnefs is not to be
iufpecled by us.
The former of thefe is \o univerfally received, that nothing will be
certain in masters ol~ this nature, if this be queftioned.
The four I^vangelifts have published their writings in populous cities,
where they have been conftantly read every Lord's day in Chriilian
affemblies ; as St. Jujlin Martyr allures us, in his apology, which was
. writ about the middle of cite fecond century.
The Apoftles writ their epifiles to numerous churches, to whom their
hand, as well as the perfons by whom they fentthem, were well known.
Can we inftance in any writing in the world that hath been preferved
with the like carefulnefs ?, Let the Jews tell us what they pleafe con-
cerning the ca»e and faithfulnefs of their anceftors to preferve the books
of the QldTeJlament} they can alledge nothing, but we can alledge the
lame in favour of the' books of the New Tejlament. They tell us, that
Mc/es, under the penalty of a curfe, had forbid the adding any thing
thereto ; and do not we read the fame threatening in the laft book of the
New 'It .•,.. f The philofophers of each feci have nothing of this
in argument that the books which they afcribe to
the;: mafte re irs : we find only a few men in every age
wfio made it their buimefs to ftudy the books of the philofophers, phy-
fici . is, am but, ever fince the Apoftles, there have been
Chriftians . it their bufinefs to perufe and preferve their wri-
tings, as coniidering that they are the fountains of eternal life.
One may u rcafion take notice of two things which deferve
fome attenti; n : the one is, That the defign of fome Heretics, as of
Maroon, for inftance, to corrupt the copies of the writings of the New
fTeflfimenti which were found in the hands of thofe of his feci, is a good
argument to prove that they could not be corrupted. In fhort, we find
all the world oppofed themfelves aguinit this corruption, and confuted
them
4g2 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVII.
them by the agreement of all the other copies in the world which were
exempt from this corruption.
The other is, That if there are fome books whofe authority was
doubtful for tome time, by thofe whootherwife were accounted orthodox,
yet this cannot juftly prejudice the truth of the New Tejiament : the rea-
son is, becaufe this happened only to fome few epiftles, which were writ-
ten, not to particular churches, but to whole nations. And indeed it
is plain, from common fenfe, that when writings are fent to whole bodies
(as the epiftle of Sf. Jude) without communicjting the copy to parti-
cular men, that they may with more juffice be fufpedted, than thofe
whofe hand was known by many, and particularly by thofe to whom the
epiftles were fent.
Moreover, the account which the ancient fathers of the church give
us of the uncertainties of this nature, fufficiently fhew that they were
very careful in examining thefe things ; and when at any time fome par-
ticular men did not ufe care enough in examining thefe books, as it once
happened in the church of Rofs (ct)> where a book which was falfely at-
tributed to St. Peter was preferved, fuppofing it to have bren his, the
other churches not confenting to it, that abufe was foon remedied,
the writings abolished, that there is fcarce a weak remembrance left of
them.
One fees that thefe remarks are fufficientto allure us, that the Apof-
tles are the authors of thofe books which bear their names : and if this
way of confirming a matter of this nature be accounted good and folid,
■when we fpeak of the books of Arijiotle or Hippocrates, it muft be infi-
nitely ftronger when it is applied to the writings of the Apoftles.
In fhort, thefe books were written to be read by perfons of the mesnefr.
capacities, by women, by children, as well as by Do&ors ; and they
treat of matters of which the whole world hath reafon to be informed.
If fome fetus fuffered martyrdom under Antiochus, to preferve the books
of the OldTe/iament, we have like examples, and as numerous, of thofe
who have done as much for the prefcrvation of the books of the New
Teflament, Laftly, if the Jews have looked upon thofe as traitors and
apoftates, who gave up thofe books to the fury of their perlecutors, the
Chriftians have reftified no lefs averfion for thofe who delivered the books
of the Apoftles to the fury of Heathens, even to the fubjeding of them
to the utmoft rigour of ecclefiaftical difcipline, in the third century,
and before.
{a) Ei'/cb. lib. vi. cap. 12.
CHAP. XVIII,
Ch. XVIII. Books of the New Tejlamenl. 493
CHAP. XVIII.
TJoat one cannot doubt of the Fahifidnefs of the IVitnefi of the Apojlles con-
cerning thofe Fails which they relate,
NEITHER is it more difficult to eftablifh this fecond truth, That
the faithfulnefs of the ApofHes cannot be reafonably queftioned.
To be convinced of this, one needs only confider the character of the
Apoftles, the character of their writings, of their fermons, of the Of-
ferings, and of their martyrdom ; and, laft of all, the character of thofe
amongft whom they wrote thefe things, and preached them to their
death.
As to their fermons, the ApofHes were contemporaries with Jefus
Chrift ; they fpoke of things which they had feen, and diftinguifhed.
them carefully from thofe which they had learned another way. They
were honeft men, fimple, and without learning, very fit to bear witnefs
in matters of fa£t ; they were perfons that preached nothing but love,
and the ftudy of truth ; they protelted, in the midft of their fufferings,
thatthey could not conceal the things which they had feen and heard;,
they are men without covetoufnefs or ambition ; they forfake all that
they poiTefs in the world ; St. AlattJxvj leaves his houfe and goods, to fo\~
low Jefus Chrift- Their cpiftles fpeak nothing more than inftances of
Chriltian poverty, of the lofs of their goods, and of mighty inftances of
their charity.
Thefe witnefTes are fufHciently numerous ; they preach and write in
feveral places, and yet they agree admirably in their relations of the-
fame facts : it appears they had fuch lively and diftin<5i impreluons, that
they frequently make ufe of the very fame words. The difference whicte
is found in fome part of their book?, is a manifeft argument that nothing
but the force of the matter made them agree in their relations.-
And, indeed, how is it otherwife conceivable that four fuch authors as
the Evangelifts, fhould agree about fo many opinions, fo many miracles,
fo many prophecies, fo many difputes, and, in a word, about fo many
matters of fa-ff ? Shall we fay that the fecond took his copy from the firft,
the third from the fecond, &rc. ? This appears to be evidently falie, by
perilling of their works, and by the difference of their fryle.
And certainly there appears fo great ingenuity in their writings, that
we cannot accufe them of having had a defign to deceive the world : they
tell you plainly o( the meannefs of their condition and original ; they
fincerely difcover their own weakneffes, their ambition, their vanity,
their difputes, their heats, their murmurings. St. Matthnv tells us that
he was a publican, that is, afervant of the Roman power, whom the Jews
looked upon as an excommunicated perfon, and as an enemy of their
own nation : he relates the ridiculous pretenfion of the fons of Zebedcey
founded on the carnal notion of their mother concerning the temporal
kingdom of the Mefiiah. They fet dov/n St. Peter's denying of his
matter ; they do 'not diffemble their common ignorance, which made
them
494 Reflexions upon the Ch. XVIII,
them expect a temporal king in Jefus Chrift ; they frankly publifh their
own incredulity, when Mary Magdalen brought them the news of our
Saviour's refurredtion ; and they defcribe the obftinate refinance of St.
Thomas about this matter, againft the unanimous teftimony of all his
companions.
They do not content themfdves with faying in general that fomc
jlluftrious facts have happened, but they punctually fet down all the cir-
cumttances; fo that it clearly appears their defign was to have their wri-
tings examined, and that after an exuft fearch men might acquieice in
the conclufions which they draw from thence. For inftance, they do
not tell us that Jefus Chrift railed a great many from the dead ; they only
tell us of three, defenbing the circumltances of their refurreftion, the
time, the place, the age, the perfons, the afiiitants ; and all thefe, with
other particulars, whicii impoitors care not to enter upon, left they
fhoulii contradict themfelves, or be ealily confuted.
: t have already fhewn, that the nature of the things themfelves which
the Difoiples of Jefus Chrift have written, is fuch as will not permit us
to aceufe them of having bad a defign to impofe upon the world : they
are fa<5ts, and not difcourfes, which are left upon record ; and facts re-
lating to the moft important matter in the world, than which none was
ever more thoroughly examined ; they are facts which are linked fo
clofely, and which have fo ftridt adependance one upon the other, and
fo interwoven with the moft public transitions, either in civil or re-
ligious affairs, th.it it was impoilible for them to form the defign of fuch
an impoiture.
In fhort, it is very remarkable, that thefe facts were publicly known
to the kings of jfudea, to the Roman magiftrate, to the principal minil-
ters of ftate, and of their religion, and to the whole nation of the Jews
aiilmbieu ten feveral times at their folemn feafts •, to the feveral feCts of
the JeifjfJ) religion, the Pharifees, Sadducees, and Ejjois, who are a t-
tacktd, ceniureu, and confuted, in thefe books.
One ought to cdnfider, after all, that the Apoftles at firft preached
and wrote in Judea, uhere were the witnefles of thofe miracles which
they related ; the impotent, the blind, the deaf, which Jefus Chrift had
rcftored •> the dead whom he railed, the Scribes and Pharifees whom he
cenfured, the Sadducees whom he confuted, the auditors who had heard
him preach, the towns wherein he had converfed moft familiarly, the
lame people that followed him, the fame enemies that confpired his
death, the fame judges, and the fame authority which condemned him
to death.
St,£«£i,in the relation he gives us of the fpeeches and apologies which
the Apoitles made before kings, before the great council of the Jewst
and in the midft of their fynagogues, brings them in fpeaking of the
facts contained in the Go/pel, as of matters publicly known and at-
tt.ited by a vaft number of witnelTes : thus St. Pair fpeaks of them in
the tenth of the Ails\ and the other iacred writers fpake of them in the
fame manner in their cpiftles.
Here is a new character which we ou^ht carefully to obferve : we find
r.o temporal inteieit which i bliged tbe Difciptes to adhere to JefusChnir;
and yrjt find yet lei's reafon to fuppofe, if Jelus Chrift had net been raifed
from
Ch. XV III. Boots of the New Te/lament. 495
from the dead, and they had not feen him after his death, that they fhould
have had any concern for his glory: they would certainly have con-
demned and anathematized him as an impoftor, who by means of fomc
falfe miracle?, and an affected holinefs, had abufed them ; whereas in-
deed we find that they defended the glory of Jefus Chrift with fo much
heat, and that with fo conftant a teftimony to his refurredtion, that they
expofed themfelves to all manner of reproaches, to all forts of punifli-
ment, and mod cruel deaths, to confirm the belief of that fact. They
defpife the anathemas of the Jezvijh fynagogue, they contemn their pub-
lic obloquies, they value not the hatred of their whole nation : they
preach this crucified perfon in Jndca, they preach him alfo in other
countries, that he might be equally adored by "Jews and Heathens : they
leave their employments, to follow this Jefus ; and after they haJ accom-
panied him three years,) they depart from Judea, to go and confound the
idolatry of the worlJ, and within Rome itiel'f to decry the gods they wor-
shipped, obliging them to acknowledge him whom the men oijcrufalon
had crucified, for their God ; him, who had been the deteftation of the
Jews; him, whom the Roman magiftratehad given up to their fury, in
making him undergo the punishment appointed for flaves.
Laftly, one ought toobferve it as a thing of great weight in this whole
queftion, that this teftimony of the Apoftles, which is fo uniform, fo
Solemn, fo well confirmed by all manner of means, and fealed with their
deaths, is not contefted or contradicted by any hiftorian of that time.
There was nothing more eafy, either for Jews or Gentiles, than to con-
vince the world of the falfehood of the fa£s related in the Gofpel ; they
had the books of the Apofties in their hands, they were mafters of the
public records: it was a matter of general concernment to the Jews,
to oppofe themfelves to an impofture of fo terrible a confluence as the
hiftory of the Evangelifts was, if it had been entirely falfe ; neither was
it Id's the intereft of the Ro?nans to expofe a fedl, of whom Pliny the
younger tells us, that all forts of people joined with them, though they
were perfecuted with incredible violence. In the mean time we find no-
body that hath contradidtcd the relation of the Apoftles, nor any author
that has writ againft Jefus Chrift or his Apoftles. A long time after in-
deed there was a book feen, called The A 'els o/'Pilate, published by the
order of the emperor Afaximian, which endeavoured to overthrow the
truth of the facte that are related in the Gofpels; but thofe acts are con-
tradicted by all the Heathen hiftorians yet remaining that were contem-
porary with the Apoftles. Finally, a vaft number of Jews and Gentiles
were immediately convinced bv the authority of the Apoftles J and a
belief in the Gofpel hath paffed from Judea to the ends of the worid,
according to the predictions which God gave by the miniiiry of the Pro-,
phets, and by the mouth of our Saviour.
CHAP. XIX.
4 6 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIX.
C HA P. XIX.
More Reafons to manifejl the Faithfulnefs of the Apojilcs.
■\1T7HAT I have already alledged might be fufficient to eftablifh the
* * faithfulnefs of the Apoftles; but, for a fuller conviction of the
reader, concerning fo weighty a truth of our religion, I fhall fuperadd
fome few more reflexions.
Firft of all, it cannot be denied that the form of the writings of the
~Rerjj Tcjiamcnt is vaitly different from thofe which may be fufpe£ted as
forgeries. When the four Evangelifts had related the miraculous birth
of John the Baptijl, they next fet down that of our Saviour Chrift, with
the actions of his life, until his death, which does not comprehend above
four or five years.
St. Lake writes the hiftory of the Apoftles, and in particular that of
St. Paul, and takes in only the fpace of about thirty years : now let any
one judge whether they who confine themfelves to fo narrow limits in
jefpect of time, place, and perfons, have any defign to impofe.
1 he remainder of thefe books is compofed of two forts of writings, one
epiftolary, and the other prophetical : for the prophetical parts, time
muft prove the truth of the predictions which are contained in the^o-
calypfe, as well as of thofe which are found in fome of the epiftles of the
Apoftles.
As for the epiftles, befides fome moral inftruflions, they are almofl:
all employed in deciding fome queftions which the calling of the Gen-
tiles to the Goipel, and the abolifhing of the ceremonial law, had raifed
in the minds of the Jews who were converted to Chriftianity. We
know that, of all writings, epiftles are the moft certain monuments, and
thofe which men endeavour to forge leaft.
After all, it is certain that the facred writers have with great care fet
down the time in which every event happened, as well according to the
ftyle of the Jews, in pointing out to us their folemn feafts, as that of the
Gentiles, by fetting down the year of the Roman emperor, and the cha-
racter of the Reman magiftrates.
A fecond character, which hinders us from accufing thefe books as
forgeries, is this, that we cannot deny but that thefe books are of a
Very particular nature: they contain feveral confiderable oracles which
were to be fulfilled in the fame generation, as that of thedeftruction of
jfervfalem ; they contain a continued feries of miracles, of which all.
Judea was witnefs ; they contain a great number of fermons, preached
VI on feveral illnftrious occafions in the fynagogues, in the temple of Je-
rujalemy and before thouf.mds of people in the wildernefs. Let any one
uuge whether it would bean eafy thing to make thefe writings to be re-
ceived, if wc fhould fuppofe them to be lately forged.
This third reflexion is alio confiderable : it is certain that the Gofpel
was preached in the greateft cities of the empire, by the Apoftles, and
the Difciples of Jefus : the hiftory of the Apoftles, and their epiftles
themfelves, make it evident, that thcie were numerous churches at Romey
Corinth,
Ch. XIX. Books of 'the New Tejlamtnt. 497
Corinth, Thejfahn'ica, Philippi, Ephcfus, Antioch, and feveral other famou8
places : it is alfo known that there were Jewi/h fynagogucs in the fain
places ; now if this be the cafe, what poffibility is there of fufpecting
the leaft impofture in the books of the Apoftles, if we confidcr how they
were drawn up ? The Dilciples of Chrift did not only preach in the fy-
nagogues the fame things wjjich they have put in writing, but they ;dfo
engaged the Jews to examine them, becaufe they affirmed them with a
conftancy which the ftws could not but look upon as incredible oi.ftina-
cy : firft of all, that thefe were things beyond difpute, and could not
be doubted of. Secondly, That they had been long iince foretold by the
Prophets. Thirdly, that they were an exact accomplifhment of other
prophecies which had relation to the promilld Meftiah. Fourthly, That
feeing they could not queftion the facts contained in the Gofpel, they
ought to renounce Judaifm, to receive baptifm, and become Chrif-
tians.
'Tis alfo of great importance to obferve further, as I have already
done, that the books of the New Tejiavwnt were penned before the over-
throw of the commonwealth of the Jews. There are only fome of the
works of St. John, which were writ after the deftrucYion of Jerujalem. I
have before obferved that the Divine Providence ordered it to, that all
the Jews for five-and-thirty years together, repairing thrice a year to Je-
rusalem at their three lblemn feftivals, might have greater opportunities
to inform themfelves of the truth of the facts contained in the Gofpels,
and the Acts of the Apoftles.
To this remark I fhall now add two weighty confederations ; the one
is, That the Chriftians for fome years fubmitied themfelves to the cere-
monial law, and repaired with the Jews to Jeia/aiem, and by this means
were engaged to examine the facts contained in the Go;pel. The other
is, That after tire council of J-erufaletn, they were dilpenfed with as to
that cuftom, as well as the obfei ving of all the other parts of the cere-
monial Jaw, which fet the Chriftians in a greater oppofition to the
Jews, and fo increafed the neceffity of examining very fciupuloufly oa
both iides, whatfoever was for or againft them in thole matters of re-
ligion.
This obfervation leads us naturally to another, That it is abfolutely
impoffible that an impofture of this nature fhould not be dilcovei-ed,
when there arifeth a difference between thofe, who may be looked upon
as the authors of the forgery, and thofe who after them endeavouicd to
gain credit to it. Now if we find that one IMciple of Jelus Chrift be-
trays him without accufing him of the leaft crime or impofture ; if we
have feen the Chriftians at firft united in the fame aftemblies with the
Jews; and that there were feveral conreih and difputes between the
Apoftles and thofe firft Chriftians, yet without calling thofe facts which
are contained in the Gofpcl, in quellion by either fide : S. Paul takes
notice of the contefts which happened betwixt him and S. Peter; S. Luke
relates the heats between S. Paul and Barnabas^ upon very flight occa-
fiens, he fetsdown alfo the difpute which aroie about the diltribution of
alms to the Greek and Jewijh widows : one fees that there arofe a dif-
pute amongft the Apoftles themfelves, about the calling of the Gentiles
to the Gofpel ; one fees afterwards the obftinacy of fome of the Jews
Vol. I. I i of
498 Reflexions upon the Ch. XIX.
of the feci of the Vbarlfees, who maintained the absolute neeeffity of fub-
niitting to circumcifion, and S. Paul's oppofition let down in his epiftle
to the Galattans. We need no more to make it evident, that there could
be no concert nor collufion between them, to deceive or impofe upon
thoic to whom they preached the Gofpel.
Let us go a little further ; a difpute happens about a capital point of
Chriftian religion, about the refurrection : iftfomuch that S. Paul thinks
himfelf obliged to write concerning it to the Corinthians, Co that there
wasa neeeffity of examining the truth of the refurrection of Jefus Chrift
again.
Now we find that S. Paul, to confirm this doctrine in general, chiefly
makes ufe ot the inftance of the refurreclion of Jefus Chrift, which he
proves by arguments taken from the fact itfelf, that is, by witnefl'es
whom he produceth. Whereupon I make this confiderable reflection,
That in comparing this difpute of S. Paul with the writings of the
Evangelifts, it clearly appears that they did not allege all the proofs they
might have done. None of them relates in particular the number of
thole who faw Jefus Chrift in Galilee upon the holy mountain ; but S.
Paul who had examined the faithfulnefs of their relations, and knew
the witnefles, fpecifies the number, and obferves that many of them
were yet alive, if perhaps any of them were already dead.
I {hall add only two confiderations more, which prove that it was
even impofhble for the Apoftlesto impofe upon the world on this occa-
fion. The firft. is taken from their ftate and condition. They are no
great lords, whole power might terrify any one from examining their
writings ; or whofe reputation could not have been called in cpieftion
without danger : on the contrary, they were men of mean condition,
employed in bafe profeflions, often caft into prifons, and from time to
time obliged to appear before mngiftrates for the fame doctrine and the
fame facts which they publifhed to the world. Let us confider then
whether it were an eaiy, matter for S. Paid for inftance, 1 fay for this S.
PauUz. maker of tents, this S. Paul without reputation, without riches ;
this S. Paul who was fejzed at Jerufahm after divers perfections, this
S. Paul who was ient a prifoner to Rontey and imprifoned thereunder
the power of the Roman magiftrate, and who at laft loft his life by Neio's
order, to make thole blindly believe all he faid, who were at liberty to
examine, whether all that Lule related as happening to him at Jerufalcm,
at Maltha^ at Philippic at Athens^ were indeed true, or only a framed
ftory.
The fecond thing we ought to obferve is, That not only the books of
the Apoftles were publicly read every Lord's clay, by a eonftant law, of
which we have moft authentic witnejies in the writings of the Apof-
tles themfclves, and in other ancient books, which are ftill extant ; but
alfo that they were all of them written, not in Hebrew* which at that
time was a dead tongue ; not in Syriec, a language fpoken in very few
places ; but in Greek, which at that time was the language commonly
received throughout all the Roman empire ; and befides was the lan-
guage into which the Divine Providence had caufed the OldTejlament to
be tranflated about three ages before, that men might cpmpare the an*
cient oracles and their accomplishment together.
C H A P.
3
£h. XX, Booh ef the NeivTeJlarr.erit, 499
CHAP. XX.
That the whole Model of the Religion and Commonwealth of the JfeWS is
at ibis Day fo entirely dejlroyed, that the iMessiaii could no more be
knoivn.
WHATI have before fet down to cflablifli the truth of thofe faas
which ferve for a foundation to the Chriftian religion, is cer-
tainly fufficient to anfwer the defism which I formed in writing theic
reflexions upon the books of the holy Scripture ; and I believe I may
with juftice conclude, That as nothing is more uncontestable $ than
the truth of thofe books, and of the fa&s in them related ; fo there is no-
thing more certain than the truth and divinity of the Chriftian religion.
So that now i have only two things to do, with which 1 conceive it will
be necefiary to conclude thele reflexions : The one is, to fhew the ab-
folute impofnbilitv of conceiving any other accomplishment of the an-
cient oracles than' what is fet down in the Golpel: 1 he other is, that
concerning the divifions amongft Chriftians, which are a icandal to the
Jews, and efpecially concerning the difficulty of the myftenes which the
Golpel propofes, which are fo many Humbling blocks to them which
hinder them from diiccrning thofe characters of truth in the Golpel,
which by the fulfilling of the ancient oracles, appear therein with fo
much luftre. The former of theie mall be the fubjed of this, and the
latter of the next chapter.
As the pulling down of the fcaffolds which were only fet up to4>u:lu
a palace, is an infallible fign that the building is finifhed, fo one may fay,
that the total defacing of the model, which God had formed in the law,
that the Mefliah at his coming might be certainly known, is an unan-
fwerable proof that he is already come. It is worth our pains to make
ibme reflexions on this overthrow, that wc may conclude againft the
Jews, that if the MefTiah was yet to appear in the world, it would be
impoffible to know him, according to the characters which God had
given of him before his appearing.
In the firft place therefore, whereas God had confined the Jews to
the land of Canaan, that they might be vifibte to all the pofterity of Noah,
of whom one part, that is, the offspring of Cham, poflefled Egypt and
Africa ; the pofterity of Japhct, Europe and the leffer Afia ; and thofe of
Shem, the reft of A/ia; the Jews at prefent are driven from that country;
and far from being reftored to it after feventy years, as they were by
Cyrus, they have been for ever banifhed thence, by a decree of the em-
peror Adrian, who forbad them fo much as to turn their eyes towards
Judea, which was in the year of Chrift 135. The Heathen Ctlfus in-
iults over them in thefe remarkable words : They hceu: no more, faith he,
either land or houfe remaining to them.
Secondly, fo far were they from having any remainders of a temporal
Dower, that they were then' whollv deprived of it. See what Tertultian
1 j 2 fa«h
•500 Reflections upon the QH -%X
sysb wh°oiiyps:em any tributc * wh,ch fhews that ^- «k
vePof'11^ 7*7 ^T16 ■" 7"ufJem bcinS l,efWed in the feventieth
r ™^°Ur l\ZS ,that '• ^ Ca"Gd 6W Was thc ycar following
r could never be hu.lt again , notwithftanding that Julian the apoXf
out of his hatred to the Chnflians, favoured that enterprife in the "c r'
of our Savour 363 There h a letter ftill extant which Julian wr t o
the Jews, to aiTure them of his proteft.on, and to encourage them to that
work, but it was not lo much his death which daihed that undcrtak ,1 f
as a very memorable oppofnion from Heaven &>
to ^f'f T Heathen gives US this a^ount of it (0. And.beingdefircus
U propagate the memory of his government by the great nefs of his zvorks, he with
vaft expence defied to reluUdthefplendld temple whieh Lsfonnerly * JerX
cm, which after many ^bloody battles y being bejiged by Vcip^L, and af-
terwards by 1 >tus ,was at la/I taken with difficulty: he committed the car! of
hafleningthebufmefsto Alypius ./Anfoch, who had formerly been pro-tri
f!l?Jk M A t}Tfr th" A,yPiu»««« ngoroufh profiting tk<
W, being ajffled by the lieutenant of the province, ternble balk of fire
fanT!al *"%?* fi*h *ff *h< Actions, foraetimes burnt the w/rkLh
and made the place tnacceffible : thus the dejign was laidafde, the element it-
J If beating them backonpurpofe. Julian cafily apprehended that their re-
tem°!e - " COUld nCVer be reftored without lhc
In the fourth place the obfervation of fome of their laws was abfolute-
ly forb.dden, as bang contrary to thofe of the Roman empire. Thus
they were not iuffered to have many wives.
Upon this overthrow many inconveniencies followed, which It will
be convenient to reprefent at one view.
. j ,Th^ T l°nger know thofe Perlbn3 who al the firft divifion of the
land, by Jofiua, were owners of the different parts of the land of Co*
naan.
2 Their families and tribes are confounded 5 their jubilee, which
could not be kept but in the land of Canaan, and which obliged them to
itudy their genealogies, having ceafcd long fince.
(b) Difperfitpalabu»d: \& cceli & foil fui eXtorrett vagantur per crhm, fine
ho„unc,fine Deo rege, qutbus ncc aehenarum jure terram pa t nam J alt em vcjYhh
jalutare conceditur. Apolog. cap. 2 > -
(«) Lib. z
ambihofum quondam apudHierofolynlam templum quodpofi mult a & iaterneciva cer-
tamina^ohfulenteVefpafiu^pojhaquc Tito^rl efi exfugnatum, inftaurare fumttb
bm cogttabat tmmodica f nefrtlumqut moturakditi* Jhpio dederat Antiochenfi, a»i
olm Brlunnlm curaverat pro prxfeilu. Cm itaque ret idem fort Iter inhdret
ty^)™™tqueprovinci*Reaor,me&tndigloK
ctebns affalttbus enmpentes, fecerA locum exufiis afiquoties operates inacce (Turn r
i.c^ue mode tlemento d^tinatiosteptiieme,crjfioi]itinceptum\
3- The
Ch. XX. Books of the New Tejlamcnt. SOi
3. The family of David is at this day utterly unknown.
4. They have no more lawful priefts to obferve the primogeniture, to
examine the tokens of virginity, tho' it appears that, according to God's
defign, thefe laws were given on purpofe to afcertain the knowledge of
the Ivleffiah, and to be like inclol'urcs about this important truth, in the
compais of which it might be the better examined.
Certainly if the Jews were ftill in pofleffion of Jttdea, if they had
their kings'of the tribe of Judab, if they had their priefts, if they were
aflured of their genealogies, if they ftill enjoyed all the other neceffary
means for eftablifhing the certainty of their defcents, if their temple had
ftill fubftfted in its former luftre, and that the facrifkes appointed by the
laws were ftill offered there : the Jews might boldly anlwer that the
Shiloh was not yet come/that is, they ought not to defpair of ieeing the
Meffiah born at Bethlehem, of the feed of David, and entering the temple
of Jerufalem. Then the prophecy of Daniel, which determines 490
years for the term in which the Meffiah was to appear, and be cut off
by a violent death and punifhment, would feem to be eluded.
' But the term of the Mcffiah's coming is paft, the commonwealth of
the Jews is overturned, the temple of Jerufalem is deftroyed 1600 years
iince : there are no more genealogies among the Jews ; they do not
know their tribes, much lefs their families : how then can it be fuppofed
that God fhould be true in his oracles (as we muft acknowledge him to
be) if they were never an fwered by the event ?
To fpeak the truth, it is impoftible to confider the arguments we have
alleged to prove that Jefus Chrift is the Meffiah, and efpecially thofe
demonstrations which the Apoftles have given us, without acknowledg-
ing thefe two things : .
The firft is, That it was very eafy at the time of Jefus Chrift s ap-
pearing, to examine whether he who declared himfelf to be the Mef-
fiah, were fo indeed ; lb it is abfolutely impoftible to examine it, or
know it, fmce the deftruction of that model, if we fuppofe that God at
firft framed it for the determining of thisqueftion, as we have noreafoa
to doubt it. .
Thefecond is, That the Chriftians exactly followed this Divine mo-
del, and being convinced of the truth of the fads which exactly cor-
refponded with it, and which anlwcred it in all its parts, they had all the
reafon imaginable to believe that Jefus Chrift was the Meffiah
In fhort, if we confider it well, we fhall find that the whole Chnftian
religion is nothing but a queftion of fad between the Jews and Chrtf-
tians : but fuch a queftion as the Jews at pvefent are not in a condition
to maintain againft the Chriftians. »*-«.i
Both Jews antl Chriftians agree in the chafers of the Me fn ah, , or
at leaft about the moft of them. According to thele characters Je Mef-
fiah ought to be come : the Chriftians maintain that they may be found
in Jefus Chrift, and they prove it by matter of fad ; wherefore we muft
conclude, That e.ther thefe charaftersattributed to the Meffiah are not
proper characters to know him by, and fo the witdom of God will be
eluded, and both Jews and Chriftians equally deceived, in taking that
for a charader of the Meffiah which is not j or eile that both the Mel-
502 Refletliom upon the Ch. XXI.
fiah is certainly come, and that he is no other than that Jefus whom we
worfhip.
CHAP. XXI.
Thai the Greatnefs ef the Myferies of the Chriftian Religion, and the Divi-
fion which is amongjl Chriflians, cannot be any prejudice to the Proofs of
the Truth of the Chrijiian Religion.
I CO ME now to examine the double ftumbling Mock which the
Jews pretend againft the Chriftian religion. This religion, fay they,
propounds doctrines that are inconceivable, and contrary to reafon : for in-
fiance, that of the Trinity, that of the Incarnation and the Divinity of the
Mejftah. Thefe are the doctrines which the Jews rejeft, as abfolutely
incompatible with the books of the Old TeJI anient, which we have re-
ceived from their hands.
But it is an eafy matter to anfwer this objection, i. It is founded
upon a total forgetfulnefs of the folidity of thole proofs of fa ft, which I
have alleged. Jefus Chrift: is rilen from the dead; this is a fact con-
firmed by feveral witnefles. Jr appears from Tacitus, that Jefus Chrift
fuffercd death under Tiberius, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea.
It is known that Claudius banifhed the Chriflians from Rome, in the
year of our Lord 54. It is evident from Tacitus, in his life of Nero,
th; t he accufed the Chriflians of burning the city of Rome , which him-
felf was the author of; the Chriflians therefore made a confiderable bo-
dy in the capital city of the empire, and this happened in the year of our
Lord 64.. Suetonius fays the fame thing. 7. It appears that Pliny, in
Trajan's time, takes notice of the manner of their meetings. 3. Dion
Cajjius fets down the accufation brought in againft Flavins and Domiullc,
as againft Athcifts ; which is the title Julian the apoftate gives to Con-
Jiantine, becaufc the Chriflians rcjeftcd the worfhip of the Heathen gods.
jj. It appears by the latter end of the Atls of the Apojiles that this book
was writ in the year of our Lord 63 ; and yet this book fuppofes the Gof-
pel of S. Luke to have been written before it; and S. Luke's Gofpel takes
it for granted, that fome of the other Gofpels were already publifhed.
«j. It appears from the writings of Clemens Romania, that the Epiftle to
the Hebrews was thfm written ; and the fame may be gathered from the
books of S. Ignatius, Polycarp, and S. Jujlin, Thefe fafts, which are
certain, are fufficicnt to prove that immediately after the death of Jefus
Chrift, his Apoftles, and their Difciples, as eye-witneffer, maintained
the truth of his lefurredtion. After this it may indeed be difputed, by
what power he was railed, whether by a Divine power, or by his own ;
but it is ridiculous to difpute the faft by r^afonings drawn from pretend-
ed abfurditits which one may think to find in the doctrines of the Gofpel.
Secondly, Thefe myftcries, as for infbnce that of the Trinity, re-
lates
Ch. XXI. Books of 'the New Te/lament. ■ 503
lares to the Divine nature, which is incomprchcnfible, fo that it is no
ftrange thing if an idea of it be propofeJ to us, which not being diftinct-
]y known by us, may raife difficulties and perplexities in our minds. If
1 would dilcourle with one born blind, of the fun, of its light and hear,
and mould attribute to the fun the production or light, and afterwards of
heat, he would find an infinite trouble not to imagine three funs. It is
known how the philofophers, who agreed about the unity of the foul,
have notwithftanding been obliged to attribute feveral faculties to it,
which the common people look upon as very different thing?, and which
feem to oppofe the ideas of irs unity and fimplicity.
In the third place, The Chrift ians prove very folidly, that thefe myfre-
rieshave been clearly propofed by the Apoftles, who received their light
from heaven as to thefe truths, and fo might neceflarily be believed upon
their word, for the fame reafon that the Prophets of the OldTc/iament
were formerly believed.
Moreover, they affert that thefe doctrines were firft expreffed, tho'
not fo clearly, in the Old T<.Jiament, which is in the hands of the Jews,
the mortal enemies of Chriftians.
I add to thefe remarks, that moft of thofe facts whofe truth is fo in-
vincibly eftablifhed, fuppofe thefe doctrines ; and that the whole frame
of the religion doth fo neceffarily require them, that we rob it of a con-
fidcrable part of its glory in queftioning or contefting any of them.
Thefe reflections may fuffice in general to refolve this difficulty of the
yews; and, for a more particular fatisfadtion, we refer the reader to thofe
books which purpofcly treat of thefe myfteries, defiring him to obferve
carefully, that commonly the moft difficult objections of Heretics againfl
thefe matters, do rather oppofe the terms which are made ufe of, or the
notions which men follow in fpeaking of thefe truths, than the propor-
tions contained in the writings of the New Tejlcmcnt.
At leaft one may be allured, that the "Jews are conftrained to refolve
feveral parallel objections, to which one can fcarcely give a fatisfactory
anfwer, without borrowing fome diftinctions and notions from the Chrif-
tians.
Neither can the fecond objection of the Jews give us any more dif-
turbance. It is true that there have been divifions amongft Chriftians,
and are ftill to this day. What can we conclude thence? Can we rea-
fonably conclude that therefore the _rirft founders of Cbriftianity were
doubtful concerning the truth of thofe facts which are the fupport and
foundation of it r
On the contrary, upon an attentive obfervation one may find,
1. That herefies have only ferved to render the truth of thefe facts
more inconteftable, by obliging thofe that had confulered of them, to
examine their certainty with more care and application. I his is the
judgment one ought to make upon all thofe herefies in the fecond age,
about the truth of the flefh of Jefus Chrift, or about the truth of his
death : from thence men took occafion to take notice of, and collect with
great care, all the circumftances that prove the truth of both thefe facts.
2. We find that the greateft part of thefe contefts do not concern the
truth of the facts, but the feveral confequences drawn from them, the
truth of thofe matters continuing ftill beyond difpute. This we find in
the
504 XefieMcns, &c Ch. XXI.
the difpute raifed about the millennium, the truth of the promifesof Jefus
Chrift being equally believed by both the difputing parties ; but diffe-
rently underftood, according to the temper of thofe that confidered of
them ; fome forming grofs and fenfual conceptions concerning them ;
others having a more fpiritual rclifh, which they had acquired by ftudy-
in"" the prophecies, and their true lenfe.
3. We find that this divifion which had fprung up amongft Chriftians,
is one of the moft folid proofs of the truth of the books of the New Tef-
tamtnt. If fome fools have endeavoured to decry fome of them, or to
falfify fome particular places, we fee that both parties unite to repel that
violence, by producing their copies, and beating back the impofrors
with their united itrcngth. Gne fees that Tertulliau, tho' a Montanijl,
writ prefcriptions againft Heretics ; and Epiphanius takes notice (with-
out any refpc£r. to fome &at were orthodox) of their crime in blotting
out pf their copies, that Chrift had wept.
It is known that the divifion of the Jews into Knraites and Thalmu-
dills, the jealoufy between the Jews and Samaritans, and the divifion
between the Jews and Chrijlians, is a means of preferving the Scripture,
and hindering its corruption, each party being very vigilant to hinder
their adverfarics from attempting any thing to its prejudice, in corrupt-
in^ a book which they confider as common to them all.
I might obfervemany other advantages which accrue to the truth from
thefe human failings ; but I will only inftanccin one, which has always
feemed to me very Confiderable ; and that is, That thefe Heretics dif-
tin&ly prove the truth of the predictions of our Saviour. An impious
perfon would have reafon to accufe our oracles as falfe, if there had ne-
ver been any herefies. But truth triumphs in feeing fo great a multitude
of them, who the more they increafe, the more fhe fees hcrfelf con-
firmed and eftablifhed. This is the reafon induced God to permit 10
great an increafe in the firft ages, when the truth, meeting with the
greateft oppofition by profecutions, flood in the greateft need of fenfible
characters by which it might be known.
I conclude this work with defiring my reader to confider thefe re-
flexions upon the holy Scripture here propounded, with a ferious atten-
tion, and to examine the coherence and indiffoluble connexion of them ;
and with prayer to God that it may pleafe him to make them ferviceable
to advance the glory of his name, "which is the only end I have propoled
to mvfclfin the writing of them.
END OF "VOLUME FIRST
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